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Three years after the Mariana incident, another dam failure leaves a trace of destruction to MG. Environmental legislation is good, but experts warn that tracking deficiencies and slow sanctions leads to new tragedies.
Three years after the rupture of a dam at Mariana, another flight to Minas Gerais, this time to Brumadinho, leaves a trace of destruction, death and missing persons. Experts in environmental law, heard by BBC News Brazil, point out that the repetition of this type of event is not due to problems of environmental law legislation. but that the inspection fails and that those responsible are punished slowly.
The national environmental policy has established since 1981. mechanisms and instruments of protection in this field in Brazil.
Its principles were reaffirmed by the 1988 Federal Constitution, which states that "Everyone has the right to an environment that is respectful of the environment, for the common use of the population and indispensable for a good quality of life. the public power and the duty to defend and preserve it for present and future generations. "
A decade later, the law on environmental offenses, which establishes criminal and administrative sanctions applicable to behaviors and activities that have an impact on the environment.
Since 2010, the safety policy of the national dams obliges companies to establish a safety plan and clbadify these structures by level of risk and potential damage, creates a national system of information on dams and [19659007] "The problem is not in the law"
Rômulo Sampaio, Professor of Law The Environmental Law of the Getúlio Vargas Foundation in Rio de Janeiro stresses that since the incident of Mariana, who killed 19 people and is considered the greatest environmental tragedy in the country's history, changes were made to federal law and state laws "to improve risk information systems dams. "
" The legislation we have is sufficient, the problem is not there, but in practice, because of the lack of investment in the control bodies. it has occurred in such a short time shows that the inspection is flawed and fails to prevent leaks, "Sampaio said.
In addition to insufficient funds, he argues the lack of qualified professionals. have worked for 20 years. Lack of professional qualification. In such activities, geologists would be needed, for example, but not always. "
Onofre Alves, a professor of public law at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), points out that one of the changes made to the state's mining legislation was the only one of its kind. prohibition of the construction of dams, sedimentation, such as Brumadinho and Mariana
However, he adds that the hardening of the legislation is not enough, because there are already hundreds of mining dams in Minas Gerais, many with sedimentation, and the control structure is insufficient to ensure their safety
"We must deal with this past. Dam stability reports are submitted by companies and it is up to the public body to verify the information presented, but lack of resources, instruments, tax and specialized technicians. Thus, the verification of these reports is not rigid.
Sampaio also says that Brazil can draw inspiration from countries such as the United States, Australia, Japan, and Europe, where "there are more creative mechanisms for environmental policy." [19659003] "There are more modern self-examination systems that are not applied in Brazil, such as a system of control of reports by competing companies, for example."
Fernando Walcacer, Professor in environmental law at PUC-Rio, environmental licensing procedures "are very favorable for companies."
"It's no secret that companies elect politicians and so have a lot of power and a very strong voice in public power. "
Walcacer claims that criticism addressed to Ibama by President Jair Bolsonaro, who stated that he would not admit that the body sentenced to a fine "correct and erroneous", deme worrying. "
At the same time, the Minister of the Environment, Ricardo Salles, defended the need" to accelerate, agile, stable and legal security "of the process of granting environmental licensing, without this means "relaxing safeguards for the environment"
"There has never been a project to weaken environmental control, quite the contrary. It is not only possible, if necessary, to strengthen legislation, address complex issues and focus on higher risk situations, "said the minister at a press conference on Saturday.
However, Walcacer said that even though "our legislation is good, we have had setbacks, like the new Forestry Code, and it remains a project ready to be put to the vote of the Congress that puts into practice end of environmental licenses. "
How many dams are safe?
According to the state has 688 dams, of which 677 have stability guaranteed by audits.On 4, the auditor has not presented any conclusion and 7 have stability not guaranteed by the auditor.The number of dams with guaranteed stability has increased from 96.7% in 2017 to 98.4% in 2018, "Semad said.
In the national register of dams, Córrego do Feijão is clbadified as a small or low-risk structure. Law 12.334 / 10 explains that the risk is calculated "because of the technical characteristics, the state of conservation of the project and the conformity with the dam safety plan".
The ANM said in a statement that the Brumadinho dam had no "documentation problems" and that the Vale submitted in March, June and September 2018 statements of stability of the structure, which have been the subject of an independent audit.
"According to information provided by the company in ANM's Integrated Mine Dam Safety Management System (SIGBM), based on a survey carried out last December by a group of technicians from the company, they found no evidence of problems related to the security of this structure.
"Slowness of legal proceedings and impunity lead to negligence"
Once an accident has occurred and that the damage has been verified, the Brazilian environmental protection legislation states that companies and their partners have unlimited liability, explains Walcacer.
"If there is a cause relationship to effect between the damage and the company, companies and their partners may be subject to penalties. It's not a question of whether or not there was a fault, "he says.However, says the expert, impunity in other episodes of the past, as in the case of Mariana, causes a lack of security with mining dams.
"After three years, no director of Samarco Vale or BHP Billiton [as empresas que administravam pela barragem em Mariana]. Companies are condemned to pay fines and damages, but the criminal prosecution is not in vain, but ends up being prescribed, "says Walcacer
.This is the minimum.But to change the behavior of companies and their leaders, it is also necessary to sanction criminally, because no one wants to go to jail. "
Sampaio, of FGV-Rio, acknowledges that the process of impeachment of the culprits is responsible Mariana, and now Brumadinho , is imperfect.
"If we have such a rigid law, why does it happen again?" "We were wrong before in the surveillance and not in the punishment." We must make sure that the account in these cases is salty and that 39, it reaches the makers more quickly. "
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