environment

Sand mining raises furor

Penonomé area residents filed a complaint with authorities against sand mining firm Chan Méndez.

edilsa gonzález roca/la prensa

downriver: Sand extraction mining company Chan Méndez is under fire from Coclé residents along the Coclé del Sur river, who claim the company has dumped machine oil and diverted its natural course.1120242

Residents of several communities in the Penonomé area of the Coclé province have banded together to protest the ecological damage and pollution to the Coclé del Sur river caused by sand extraction activities.

Community leaders filed a complaint with the provincial governor, the mayor of Penonomé, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the country’s chief environmental agency, Anam.

The complaint emphasized extraction company Chan Méndez’s negligence in regard to their use of the river, which residents claim includes dumping machine oil and diverting the river’s natural course.

According to resident Elia Valdés, the company is operating on property titled to the company’s legal representative Enrique Real, where it draws large amounts of sand far from the supervision of authorities.

Ezequiel Ramos, who lives in Las Guabas, worried that the project’s impact on the river will be irreparable, and said he doubted whether the company completed an environmental impact study that took into account the riparian biodiversity of the area.

Upon receipt of the complaint, authorities pledged to launch an investigation into Chan Méndez, which currently lacks valid permits for sand extraction.

A document found at the Department of Mineral Resources at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry indicated that the company was granted a 90-day permit for the excavation of 10,800 cubic meters of sand from the Coclé del Sur River on April 18. That concession, however, was approved before Anam authorized the company’s request to dredge sediment, sand and mud from the riverbed, ostensibly to prevent flooding.

Geli Arturo Ábrego, regional director of the Anam in Coclé, confirmed that the agency began to investigate the case after realizing that the permit to dredge had expired several months ago and because there is no evidence that an environmental impact study was ever submitted.

He added that he has ordered an inspection of the area to confirm whether the project has indeed harmed the environment and to verify that sand has been removed illegally, as residents contend.

Officials from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry reported that they ordered the immediate suspension of sand extraction on the river while it processes an extension of the company’s concession.

Company lawyer Enrique Royal could not be reached for comment.