Biobío Chile
A group of unions of independent workers dedicated to artisanal fishing sued the National Electricity Company (ENDESA) for environmental damage.
The plaintiffs indicated that the Bocamina 1 and 2 units of the Bocamina Thermoelectric Complex, owned by the company in question, had been emitting chemical substances such as arsenic, chromium, zinc and mercury, among others, for years, at levels that exceed the maximums allowed by Chilean laws.
The plaintiffs requested in their lawsuit that ENDESA be declared to have caused environmental damage in the municipalities of Coronel and Lota, and that measures be adopted to mitigate and repair the environmental and patrimonial damage caused.
The lawsuit was partially upheld by the Third Environmental Court, which ruled that ENDESA negligently caused environmental damage to the air quality in the municipalities of Lota and Coronel. The court ordered the company to reduce particulate matter emissions from the Bocamina Thermoelectric Power Plant by 38%, limiting them to no more than 86 tons of particulate matter emissions per year. Furthermore, the court ordered the company to submit a plan outlining how it will reach the emissions limit set by the ruling and detailing the activities it will undertake to achieve this within a maximum period of one year, once the plan has been submitted and approved by the court.
The plaintiffs pointed to Chile's non-compliance with the Kyoto Protocol, which is a priority for lowering its CO2 and particulate matter emissions quota from the combustion of hydrocarbons, one of the main contributors to the greenhouse effect.
They also point out that Chile has doubled its percentage of CO2 released into the atmosphere, which is largely a consequence of coal-fired power plants.
The Court noted that air pollution caused by particulate matter contributes to the formation of photochemical smog, acid rain, reduced visibility, deterioration of water quality, impact on plants, decreased productivity in the agricultural sector, and indirect impact on climate change, among other things.
- Herminio Carrillo Irribarra and others.
- National Electricity Company (ENDESA) SA
The municipalities of Lota and Coronel are located on the Gulf of Arauco and have a predominantly coastal population. The Bocamina II hydroelectric plant is located approximately 50 meters from the Pacific Ocean.
The affected individuals and communities in the municipalities of Coronel and Lota are independent workers who collect seaweed, gather seaweed, shellfish divers, frog divers, and artisanal boatmen. The lawsuit states that the pollution covers the entire coastline, from the mouth of the Biobío River to the municipality of Arauco, on the Gulf of Arauco, even affecting the city of Concepción, which, along with Talcahuano and Coronel, has been declared a “pollution saturated zone.”
Standards
- Convention for the Protection of the Environment and Coastal Zone of the Southwest Pacific.
- Kyoto Protocol.
- Political Constitution of Chile.
- Law number 19.300, On General Bases of the Environment.
Beginning
- Environmental Remediation.
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