Indra Harsaputra and ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Sidoarjo, East Java
State Minister of the Environment Rachmat Witoelar arrived here Tuesday to inspect the huge and unrelenting mudflow from a local gas well, and warned the operator could face the loss of its license for the disaster.
Hundreds of residents have been forced to evacuate their homes, a similar number have been hospitalized and local factories closed due to the overflow of millions of liters of toxic mud at Siring village, Porong district, since May 29. Rice fields also have been inundated by a blanket of thick mud.
With the pollution closing one section of the Surabaya-Gempol turnpike, state turnpike company PT Jasa Marga implemented two-lane traffic in the remaining stretch of the road to relieve congestion Tuesday.
Rachmat said the gas drilling activities by PT Lapindo Brantas lacked the compulsory environmental impact analysis, locally known as Amdal.
If the legal oversight was confirmed, the government would revoke the company's operation license in the area, the minister said, although he acknowledged the lack of the document was not unusual.
""It's common practice in Indonesia that companies are allowed to go ahead with exploration work despite the absence of the Amdal on the grounds that the gas drilling is still in the exploration stage and has not entered the exploitation one.""
He added his office would improve monitoring of exploration and mining activities in the country to prevent losses to the public and environmental damage.
""In the Lapindo case, our team is still investigating and if neglect is found, Lapindo's permit will be revoked.""
Possible negligence under investigation included a delay in the technical installation of casing pipes at a depth of about 2,590 meters, he said.
At the same site, presidential special staff Zannuba Arifah Chafsoh Rahman said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono reminded the regional administration to seek the most suitable method to stem the flow.
Meanwhile, Jasa Marga introduced two-way traffic on the remaining passable lane of the Surabaya-Gempol turnpike.
All vehicles from the direction of Gempol were directed to the right lane across the median. ""This is just a short-term solution,"" said Bachriansyah from the local branch of the turnpike operator.
The turnpike had been closed for two days, disrupting economic activities around the East Java capital of Surabaya. Container trucks, which usually travel along the road to the city's Tanjung Perak Port, were forced to take more time-consuming detours along ordinary road networks.
Jasa Marga also is considering other alternatives to overcome traffic disruption, including constructing an overpass and a channel to divert the mudflow.
However, all the alternatives would likely be hindered by the increasing volume of the mudflow, Bachriansyah said.
