Govt announces names of worst river polluters
Govt announces names of worst river polluters
JAKARTA (JP): Two plywood producers, two paper mills and a
paint factory were named the worst river polluters by the
government yesterday.
The Environmental Management Impact Agency (Bapedal), the
government's environmental watchdog, disclosed yesterday the
results of its survey of 213 companies which discharge waste into
rivers. They rated them according to their performance in living
up to their environmental responsibilities.
Five of the surveyed companies got black ratings for being the
worst polluters. The black listed companies are PT Raja Garuda
Mas Panel, a plywood producer in Riau; PT Tirta Mahakam Plywood
Industry in East Kalimantan; PT Papyrus Sakti Paper Mill, a paper
and pulp producer in West Java; PT Sari Morawa, a paper factory
in North Sumatra; and PT Sico, a paint factory in North Sumatra.
State Minister of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, who also
chairs Bapedal, announced the findings to the media yesterday.
While he made no mention of any planned action against the
companies, Sarwono said Bapedal is ready to assist people
affected by the pollution to initiate legal action against the
five offenders.
Sarwono said his officers are ready to testify as expert
witnesses for the plaintiffs.
Executives of the five companies were not available to comment
on Sarwono's promise.
This is the first time the government has revealed the names
of the country's worst industrial polluters. Last June, when
Bapedal disclosed the results of its first study, then covering
187 companies, it only named the five best performers.
None of the 213 companies surveyed won the gold category,
reserved for companies that have zero pollution. After gold comes
green, then blue, red and black.
Five companies were named in the green category. They are PT
Coca Cola Pan Java in North Sumatra; PT Kalhold Utama, a plywood
company in East Kalimantan; PT Pindad, the state-owned arms
manufacturer in West Java, PT Petrokimia Nusantara Interindo and
PT Indah Kiat Pulp and Paper Corporation in Tangerang, West Java.
Eighty-eight companies were rated blue and 115 were rated red.
Sarwono concluded that in the majority of cases, company
owners, not the management, hold the key to how the company lives
up to its environmental responsibilities.
He compared Raja Garuda Mas, which is a subsidiary of a
business group by the same name, with PT Inti Indorayon Utama, a
huge pulp and paper factory in North Sumatra. Indorayon got a
blue rating because of the willingness of its owners.
"This goes to show that business group owners must lead their
companies into environmental standard compliance," he said. "Our
business culture shows strong dependence on owners rather than on
management."
Inti Indorayon Utama was the target of public rage when a gas
pipe exploded at its plant late in 1993. It had also been blasted
for excessive logging and pollution. It volunteered to undergo
environmental auditing last June.
The Proper Prokasih, or the program for pollution control
evaluation and rating, evaluates the quality of waste water of a
factory discharged to rivers. The rating does not include
discharge into the air.
Sarwono said the rating system will be expanded to include all
hazardous pollutants.
Bapedal Deputy for Pollution Supervision Nabiel Makarim said
that compared with the first survey six months ago there has been
an improvement in the way companies control their waste.
Sarwono picked out PT Indobharat Rayon, a textile company in
Purwakarta, West Java, which he described as having made
"dramatic progress". It move from black to blue within six
months.
PT Cheil Samsung Astra, a Korean joint venture producing food
seasoning in East Java, was dropped from the recent study because
Bapedal decided to undertake a new study following allegations
last month that the company was polluting the river.
Cheil Samsung, which was one of the five companies rated green
in June, was the target of an angry protest by shrimp farmers who
claimed that its waste was killing the river.
Sarwono yesterday maintained that there was no problem with
Cheil Samsung's waste as far as Bapedal was concerned.
The rating system and the biyearly public disclosure is
expected to motivate companies to perform better, sparing the
government, at least at this stage, from having to go through
complex and lengthy legal actions.
Once the climate of compliance is better, there is more hope
for law enforcement, Sarwono said.
He added that with Bapedal's database, law enforcement
agencies should feel more confident in bringing suspects to
trial. (anr)