Govt warns Freeport over river pollution

Govt warns Freeport over river pollution

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government has asked U.S.-based copper and gold mining
company PT Freeport Indonesia to immediately deal with the
pollution emanating from its mines near the Papuan towns of
Tembagapura and Timika.

It said that thousands of locals living along two main rivers
where the company dumped its waste water were under threat from
numerous diseases because of the river pollution.

Muh. Ali Kastella, chief of the provincial office of the Waste
Management Board (Bapedalda), confirmed in Jayapura on Wednesday
that Governor Jaap P. Solossa has delivered an official letter to
Freeport, asking the company's management to deal with the
pollution immediately and to also be transparent about its waste
management procedures.

He said the governor's letter was sent following an
instruction from Minister of the Environment Nabiel Makarim that
Freeport be warned about the pollution.

The governor also asked Freeport to explain how its waste was
treated before being discharged into the rivers. The company was
asked to redesign its work program to resolve problems with its
tailing dump and to reduce discharges into the rivers as part of
the effort to maintain the ecological stability of nearby
mangrove forests.

Besides, the company was also asked to speed up its
reclamation work to 150 hectares annually from the current target
of 75 hectares, and furnish accurate information to the public on
the company's environmental vision and mission through the print
and electronic media.

Kastella explained that the environment minister had asked the
governor to review the permit issued by the provincial
administration to the company allowing it to dump tailing
material into the rivers.

"Freeport has also been asked to explain its environmental
programs and their implementation to the Papua provincial
administration," he said as quoted by Antara.

Numerous informal leaders have expressed their deep concern
over the river pollution, saying the government should fine the
company as its waste was polluting rivers which served as water
sources for the indigenous people in the area.

Markus A. Pogolamum, one of the informal leaders, regretted
that Freeport had been mining the province's copper and gold
deposits for years but still did not hesitate to make the locals
the victims of its mining operations.

Local people could do nothing if the government failed to
control the giant mining company, he said.

Last August, the South Jakarta District Court declared
Freeport guilty of violating the environmental law as a result of
the Grasberg incident in 2000. The court ruled that the company
had disseminated misleading information about its waste
management activities and had failed to prevent the collapse of
its waste heap at Lake Wanagon near its copper and gold mines in
Grasberg, Mimika Regency. The incident claimed four lives.

The lawsuit was filed by the Indonesian Forum for the
Environment (Walhi). The environmental organization has also sued
Freeport over the river pollution but the case has yet to go to
trial.