Communities Protest Mining Impacts Study, January 10 2007

Chalatenango and Morazan Communities Protest Mining Companies´ Environmental Impacts Study

 

By Sebastián Darío

January 10th, 2007

 

San Salvador—Busloads of citizens from mining affected zones of the Chalatenango and Morazan provinces gathered outside the offices of the Salvadoran Minister of the Environment and Natural Resources yesterday to protest the request for environmental permission to mine by the Triada mining company, a subsidiary of Intrepid Mines Limited of Canada.  Carrying sings reading “no to mining, yes to life” community members demanded that the Salvadoran Government not grant exploitation licenses to the company. 

 

According to the Salvadoran Ministery of the Environment website, two environmental impacts studies were presented by company engineer William McGuinty on the 19th of December, 2006.  These studies are reviewed by that Minister, who according to Salvadoran Mining Law must then either grant or deny environmental permission to begin mining operations.  In Chalatenango the impacts study covers the Cerro Petancol exploration license which includes the municipalities of Potonico, San Miguel de Mercedes and San Antonio Los Ranchos.  In Morazan, the impacts study covers the San Pedro license which includes the municipality of Divisadero. 

 

Over the holiday, the environmental impact studies where available for public observation and comment during a fifteen day period which closes today, at which time the Minister of the Environment must make a decision as to whether or not to give the Triada company its approval of the impacts study.  This approval is part of the process of obtaining a mining exploitation license from the Salvadoran Minister of the Economy. 

 

Lorena Martinez, elected president of the Association for the Development of El Salvador, whose national board represents some three hundred communities in the country including affected communities within the Petancol exploration license, spoke at the activity and with Ministry representatives.  She criticized the mining company for submitting the environmental impacts study over the holiday to avoid citizen comments, and for disregarding citizen concerns. 

 

In December, Salvadoran President Tony Saca appointed Carlos Guerrero, former vice-minister of public works, as the new head of the Minister of the Environment.  Guerrero, a former construction company owner, replaces Hugo Barrera who was moved to another cabinet seat.  According to an article in the December 15th edition of the Salvadoran daily the Prensa Grafica, Guerrero claims he will look for a “balance between the economy and the environment,” a balance Chalatenango residents present at the Ministry of the Environment yesterday hope favors their communities over the Canadian and Austrialian based mining companies who they claim would bring permanent environmental damage, dislocation of their communities, and health problems. 

 

 

 

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