A complaint for “lack of service” was filed with the Comptroller General of the Republic against the Superintendence of the Environment (SMA), because they accuse that it allowed, for more than a few years, that the mining company Anglo American Sur “disregards its obligation to restore water to the basin of the Blanco River (Los Andes), affecting the hydrological regime of this”.
The action was presented by the deputy and president of the Water Resources Commission of the Chamber, Nelson Venegas (PS), and the president of the First Section of the Aconcagua River, Javier Crasemann.
The complaint filed points to the Superintendence of the Environment for allegedly “not evaluating environmentally or implementing the permanent solution to acid drains that environmental Qualification Resolution (RCA) No. 29, of 2004, requires it to perform.” According to the complainants, this has caused harm to all those who take advantage of the waters of the Aconcagua River and to the environment itself.
The deputy indicated at the exit that “we request this Comptroller’s Office to investigate the facts set forth above and determine the responsibilities that may arise from it for the actions or omissions object of this complaint.”
“In addition, we request that you demand that the denounced agencies urgently provide a solution to the situation described, considering the special situation of water scarcity in the Aconcagua basin,” he added.
For his part, the head of the Surveillance Board of the First Section of the Aconcagua River, Javier Crasemann, said that “for Anglo American Sur to delay the environmental assessment and subsequent construction of the permanent solution is entirely convenient, since it allows it to obtain, virtually free, water resources to keep its tasks operational, without the need to obtain water use rights or implement a measure of restitution of flows to the river. White.”
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The version of the SMA and Anglo American
Through a statement, the SMA reported that in relation to the “Los Bronces” project of the mining company AngloAmerican, a permanent inspection is being carried out.
“The SMA has instructed sanction procedures regarding this project, with fines of more than $ 4,000 million, one of the highest of the Superintendence. Regarding the Donoso Sterile Deposit, it is closed until there is a definitive solution linked to acid drains. Today there is a transitional solution that we are constantly monitoring, with our Water Resources and Biodiversity section of the Oversight Division. However, we know that the definitive solution that the company must implement has been delayed, and that generates a concern, and as an institution we are going to request from the company all the background so that the definitive solution is implemented in the shortest possible time, “said the Superintendent (S), Emanuel Ibarra.
Meanwhile, Anglo American says that “as explained by the complainants, in 2004, Anglo American Sur obtained the Environmental Qualification Resolution (RCA) favorable to the project “Donoso Sterile Deposit”, where some measures were established before an eventual drainage of acids downstream of this deposit. ”
“As part of its efforts to progressively reduce the extraction of fresh water, Anglo American is implementing a water management strategy that considers, among other measures, the use of industrial water unfit for human consumption for its mining processes. It is water that is discarded from other industrial processes and that does not compete with the use for people. This water is transported in tanker trucks to the sector of Las Tórtolas, in the commune of Colina, where it is integrated into the process of reuse and recycling of water from the Los Bronces mine, reaching 89% in 2021, “he added.
“The use of industrial water in the mining process of Los Bronces is known to the relevant authorities and the company is fully available to provide all the additional information that the authorities consider necessary,” he concluded.
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