Govt team finds Buyat Bay at risk
Govt team finds Buyat Bay at risk
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Mining company PT Newmont Raya (PT NMR) violated regulations
about how it disposed of its tailings, a team of experts from the
Office of the State Minister for the Environment said.
The team urged relevant authorities to investigate the matter further.
State Minister for the Environment Nabiel Makarim, who earlier
dismissed reports on pollution in the bay, laid blame with the
U.S.-based mining firm, quoted the team's findings on Tuesday
that the company violated regulations in implementing its
submarine tailing disposal (STD) system at Buyat.
"The team also found that the thermocline in Buyat Bay is
located between 100 and 300 meters below sea level and not 82
meters," Nabiel said.
The dumping of tailings, which contain heavy metal and
chemical debris, under the thermocline layer 82 meters below sea
level was a potential danger for Buyat Bay as substances could
spread through the water due to earthquakes or other natural
disasters, he added.
PT Newmont said it deposited its tailings 82 meters beneath
the surface, while claiming that it had secured the environmental
impact analysis (Amdal) required for companies before starting
operations.
Nabiel said the team also recommended that the government
further examine allegations of metal contamination in Buyat Bay
through biomonitoring and human biomonitoring.
"If it is found that PT Newmont is involved in heavy metal
pollution in Buyat Bay, it must be held responsible for all the
damage," he added.
The mining company ceased operating in South Minahasa on
Tuesday but has been asked to regreen its former opencast mine
and monitor the environment for the next three years.
"The team has also asked the Ministry of Energy and Mineral
Resources to amend its contract with PT Newmont by requiring it
to monitor Buyat Bay for 30 consecutive years after the mine is
closed," Nabiel said.
The minister said he would table the team's findings at
ministerial meetings this week to determine the government's
stance on the matter.
In a response, PT Newmont said the team's report did not
reflect government policy on the case. "We shall seek
clarification on the conclusions soon," it said in a statement.
The company insisted on denying that it had polluted Buyat Bay
or created health problems for local residents.
Called the "Peer Review" team, it consisted of experts from
the Technology Assessment and Application Agency (BPPT), the
Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Sam Ratulangi
University, the University of Indonesia and other agencies.
The team was tasked with reviewing as many as 12 scientific
reports on Buyat Bay, including those from Newmont, non-
governmental organizations, the National Police and Nabiel's
office, which arrived at different conclusions.
The team was different to a independent team set up by the
central government to investigate allegations of pollution in the
bay.
Separately, National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said on
Tuesday that the police would not hesitate to identify a party as
suspect in the Buyat Bay case.
"We shall name suspects after obtaining sufficient evidence.
However, we shall be very careful in declaring a company as the
source of contamination," he said.
Da'i said the police would use their own laboratory test
results as principal evidence in the investigation, while
findings by other teams would used for comparative purposes.