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Activists denounce dumping of mine tailings in waters off Central Sulawesi
Environmental activists are furious about a plan by several mining companies in North Maluku and Central Sulawesi to dispose of their tailing waste in nearby waters, saying it could pollute the environment and put local fisherfolk at risk
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E
nvironmental activists are furious about a plan by several mining companies in North Maluku and Central Sulawesi to dispose of their tailing waste in nearby waters, saying it could pollute the environment and put local fisherfolk at risk.
Documents obtained by the Network for Mining Advocacy (Jatam) show four companies are currently applying for permits for deep sea tailing disposal, namely PT Trimegah Bangun Persada, operating on Obi Island, South Halmahera regency, North Maluku, and PT QMB New Energy Material, PT Sulawesi Cahaya Mineral and PT Huayue Nickel Cobalt, all three operating in Morowali regency, Central Sulawesi province.
PT Trimegah has obtained a location permit from the North Maluku governor, according to a decree dated July 2, 2019. The company is a subsidiary of PT Harita Jayaraya, part of the Harita Group.
Meanwhile, PT Sulawesi Cahaya Mineral is a part of the National Strategic Building Project of the Morowali Nickel Smelter worth a total of Rp 32.4 trillion (US$2.27 billion). It sits on an area of 219.28 hectares shared with PT Indonesia Guang Ching Nickel and Stainless Steel Industry.
If approved, the waste from the nickel and cobalt metallurgy industry would be dumped into the sea. According to Environment and Forestry Ministerial Regulation (Permen) No. 18/2018, deep sea tailings must be dumped outside of “sensitive areas” with standard levels of water quality, where the thermocline layer (where water temperatures rapidly decline) is at least 100 meters below the surface and where seabed canyons would allow the tailings to sink to depths of 200 m or more.
Jatam campaigner Melky Nahar said that up to 14 nickel mining companies operated on the 200-ha Obi Island. If the deep sea tailings disposal was approved it would put even more environmental strain on the island.
“This is a conscious effort to destroy Obi Island. [It will surely harm] local inhabitants who work as farmers and those working in the fishing sector,” Melky said at a discussion on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, according to Jatam, up to 61 mining companies operate in Morowali.
Melky said the fact the mines have taken over the land shows that the government still favors mining companies over sustainable environmental practices.
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“This is a conscious effort to destroy Obi Island. [It will surely harm] local inhabitants who work as farmers and those working in the fishing sector.”
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Meanwhile, People's Coalition for Fisheries Justice (KIARA) campaigner Farid Ridwanuddin said the Indonesian economy was still too reliant on extractive industries, which also impact coastal and small island communities. Meanwhile, some investors have interests in natural resources, such as nickel and cobalt, in the eastern parts of Indonesia, including in Morowali and on Obi Island.
Farid also criticized the tailings plan as it was not mentioned in either provinces’ coastal planning and it might encroach on the fishing areas and other sensitive areas listed in Permen No. 18.
“Fishing areas are forbidden from being made into dumpsites according to the regulation,” Farid said, adding that according to mining maps on Obi Island and Morowali, the tailings could be dumped within 12 nautical miles of their coasts.
Farid also cited Article 35 of Law No. 27/2007 on coastal and small islands zoning that forbids activities that could damage coastal areas and coral reefs, mangroves and sea grass beds.
He said coastal and small islands were more susceptible to environmental degradation, not only from rising sea levels, but also from other practices.
Farid said both KIARA and Jatam demanded that the government drop the plan to dump nickel tailings into the sea and evaluate the permits of the mining operations.
“This project is ecological suicide. In the short term it might be beneficial, but not in the long term,” he said.
Farid said that the government should instead restore the areas affected by the extractive industries.
Although the three companies have yet to obtain location permits from the local administration, a letter from the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry’s Maritime Space Management Directorate General, No. B.225/2019 dated March 1, 2019, on maritime space management guidance, might be used as justification for the deep sea dumping, Melky said.
Separately, the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry's acting director general of marine space management, Aryo Hanggono, said the letter was not a location permit, which would instead be issued based on a coastal areas and small islands zoning plan (RZWP3K).
He said that although North Maluku had issued a location permit for Obi Island, if such a permit was issued it did not mean that dumping could be done right away.
“A location permit may have been issued by the governor according to the RZWP3K, but if according to the environment ministry it could pollute or damage the environment, then such activities may not be executed,” Aryo told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
Environment and Forestry Ministry Environmental Impact Analysis Commission secretary Ary Sudijanto did not respond to the Post's request for comment on Thursday.
