T

he National Police have launched a major investigation into more than a dozen companies that have allegedly caused severe pollution in the Citarum River, the longest and largest river in West Java.

The Citarum River, along with Chernobyl in Ukraine, has been listed as one of the world'€™s 10 most polluted places, according to a 2013 report by environmental organization Green Cross Switzerland and international nonprofit organization Blacksmith Institute.

The National Police have intensified their probe into three textiles factories that have allegedly dumped hazardous industrial waste in the river and are studying the wastewater samples from nine other companies.

A head investigator at the police'€™s special crimes division, Sr. Comr. Zarialdi, identified on Thursday three toxic waste contributors only by the initials of PT DPL, PT IHT and PT UBK located in Bandung regency, West Java.

'€œPT DPL does not have a proper wastewater treatment system. The factory just dumps the waste in a waterway that eventually reaches the Citarum,'€ he said at his office in Jakarta on Thursday.

An independent laboratory test found that the factory'€™s wastewater has levels of pH, suspended solids (TSS), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen dioxide (COD), sulfur, lead (Pb) and chlorine that exceed acceptable limits.

Zarialdi said that the Regional Environmental Management Agency (BPLHD) had sent two warning letters to the factory but had not received a sufficient response.

The director of PT DPL has been named a suspect for reportedly violating articles 98 (1) and 99 of the 2009 Environmental Law, which carry a maximum penalty of nine years in prison and a Rp 9 billion (US$778,378) fine.

PT IHT is suspected of committing similar offenses, but the police have only issued a warning letter as the company has not previously been reprimanded.

The third company, PT UBK, is accused of disposing of liquid and solid waste in the river. The solid waste consists of fly ash and bottom ash '€” both of which are residues generated in coal combustion.

'€œThe law allows us to promptly prosecute the company without any warning notices, considering that it discharges unprocessed solid waste,'€ Zarialdi said while noting that the police had not officially named any suspects in the case.

The National Police'€™s inquiry into the 11 alleged Citarum polluters is based on their own findings, except for those on PT IHT and PT DPL.

The two companies are among 17 alleged Citarum polluters named in a recent Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) report. The agency is only authorized to share the report with law enforcement agencies, leaving the other 15 polluters unknown to the public.

Meanwhile, West Java Deputy Governor Deddy Mizwar claimed that more than 71 companies might have polluted the Citarum.

Besides the National Police investigation, the West Java Police have also moved against Citarum polluters by probing six companies. They have been identified as PT FS and PT SKL in Bandung regency, PT PCP in Subang, PT AP in Purwakarta and PT PD in Karawang.

West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan is slated to launch the Citarum restoration program, which will be carried out in an integrated and systematic manner from 2014 to 2018.

The restoration plan will start upstream of the Citarum River, stretching 60 kilometers from the Cisanti catchment area at the foot of Mount Wayang, south of Bandung city, down to Saguling Dam.