Mexico’s Ministry of the Environment (Semaruna) has filed criminal charges against mining consortium Grupo Mexico over the catastrophic spill of hazardous waste into the Sonora River in 2014, Semaruna confirmed on Thursday.
Semaruna reiterated in a statement that the spill of 40,000 cubic meters of acidic copper sulfate solution into a tributary of the Sonora River on August 6, 2014 was a direct result of Grupo Mexico’s poorly designed dam system. Ta.
“It was not an accident, it was negligence,” Environment Minister María Luisa Alboles said at a press conference.
On August 17 of this year, Semaruna announced that three Mexican companies – Mexicana de Cananea, Buenavista del Cobre and Operadra de Minas e… Criminal charges have been filed against Instalaciones Mineras.
An estimated 22,000 people were affected in at least eight municipalities, making it the worst environmental disaster in Mexican mining history.
Alboles explained that the Mexican group has agreed to contribute at least 2 billion pesos (US$110 million) to environmental remediation through the Sonora River Trust in the wake of the spill. However, only half of these funds were actually delivered, with funding shortages resulting in nine water treatment plants closing after one month and another closing after two years. Multiple irregularities were discovered. Since 2020, Grupo Mexico has ignored court orders to restart the fund.
In a report released earlier this month, Semarnat concluded that the remediation costs it paid “in no way covered the problem.” [spill’s] Direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts on populations, ecosystems, and economies. ”
Many of these impacts are ongoing, including higher than recommended levels of mercury in the air, heavy metals in the water, and acidity in the soil.
In response, Grupo Mexico issued a statement rejecting the report’s findings and insisting that “Sonora River restoration has been a success.”
At a press conference Thursday, Alboles said the company has been ordered to present a new remediation program, which must be approved by the affected communities and approved by Semarnat.
Affected communities, represented by the Sonora River Basin Commission (CCRS), submitted their own list of demands. These include 36 water treatment plants in operation, in line with Grupo Mexico’s original commitments. Poison Center to monitor and treat the effects of heavy metal exposure. and ensuring the health of local children.
The CCRS also called for urgent attention to the problems found at Groupe Mexico’s new Tails Dam as a potential risk, and the establishment of an early warning system to alert local communities to the dangers associated with local mining companies. calling out.
With reports from Reuters and processo