Belice sufre impactos socioambientales por represas desde que se construyó la primera represa hace 12 años
El Instituto de Derecho y Política Ambiental de Belice (BELPO) está litigando en los tribunales por los vertidos de lodo de la represa Chalillo en los ríos Macal y Belice. El 30 de junio de 2008, la Corte Suprema de Justicia ordenó al Departamento de Medio Ambiente supervisar y hacer cumplir el plan del medio ambiente a BECOL. Más de un año después, BELPO presentó documentos ante el tribunal diciendo que DOE todavía no cumplía la orden del Tribunal. Las fotos de fines de 2009, tomadas en el sitio de la represa Chalillo demostraban que los cambios en el color del agua del río Macal comenzaban en la represa. El control de la calidad del agua es sólo uno de los pasos que BECOL debía cumplir para reducir el daño a la salud pública y el medio ambiente que es causada por la represa.
En su fallo de junio 2008, la Corte ordenó específicamente a DOE cumplir las secciones del Plan de Cumplimiento Ambiental que requieren un sistema integrado en caso de emergencias por rotura de represa, pruebas de los niveles de mercurio en el pescado, un sistema de participación del público, y prueba de la calidad del agua.
En un breve Consejo de Ministros en agosto de 2009, DOE reveló que había empezado a notar problemas con la calidad del agua en mayo. Sin embargo, no presentó ninguna información oficial sobre las pruebas de agua que dicen haber hecho.
Antes de volver a la Corte Suprema, BELPO solicita la información indispensable de salud en virtud de la ley Belize’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) y presentó un petitorio al Defensor del Pueblo, para exigir que el público contara con esta información de salud.
Belpo back in Court over muddy discharges from Chalillo Dam
Sunday, October 25, 2009
The Belize Institute of Environmental Law and Policy (BELPO) is back in court over the muddy discharges from the Chalillo dam into the Macal and Belize rivers.
More than a year ago, on June 30, 2008, the Supreme Court ordered the Department of the Environment to monitor and enforce BECOL’s compliance with the Chalillo dam environmental plan.
Last month, BELPO filed papers in the Court saying that DOE has still not followed the Court’s order.
In early August, photos taken at the Chalillo Dam site showed that the changes in the Macal’s water color started at the dam. Monitoring the water quality is just one of the steps that BECOL was supposed to take in order to reduce the damage to public health and the environment that is caused by the dam.
In its June 2008 decision, the Court ordered DOE specifically to enforce sections of the Environmental Compliance Plan that require a dam break system, an emergency preparedness plan, testing of mercury levels in the fish, a system for public input, and water quality testing.
In a Cabinet brief last August, DOE disclosed that it had begun to notice problems with water quality in May. Yet it presented no formal information on the water tests they claim to have done.
Before going back to the Supreme Court, BELPO sought the critical health information under Belize’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and filed a Notice of Application with the Ombudsman, to demand that the public be provided with this health information.
That is why BELPO is once again taking action, and calls on both the government and Fortis/BECOL to come clean about the muddy water in the Macal River.
Further reading:
Environmentalists ask Belize Supreme Court for injunction to stop pollution from Canadian dam
Water Quality Update for the Macal River
Canadian-owned dam shocks Belize River with discharges, threatens river ecology
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Este letrero delante de la casa de George y Candy González parece ser un problema para BECOL, el propietario / operador de las represas en el río Macal. Y lo incluyeron en el reciente caso judicial, a pesar de no tener absolutamente nada que ver con el caso. Ellos incluso hicieron intentos para conseguir que la Corte elimine el letrero. Todavía tenemos libertad de expresión en Belice por lo que el letrero se mantendrá hasta BECOL cumpla con sus obligaciones en el marco del Plan de Cumplimiento Ambiental (Environmental Compliance Plan (ECP).
No tenemos grandes presupuestos para contrarrestar las campañas publicitarias de BECOL y sus afirmaciones de tener conciencia y responsabilidad ambiental. Sólo tenemos letreros de latón, y la voluntad del pueblo para sostener el mensaje de que nuestro río está enfermo, el agua y el pescado ya no son saludables y no se nos da información sobre las represas.
Belize Institute of Environmental Law and Policy This sign in front of the home of George and Candy Gonzalez seems to be a problem for BECOL, the owner/operator of the dams on the Macal River. , They brought it up in the recent court case and it had absolutely nothing to do with case. Th...ey even made attempts to get the Court to have the sign removed. We still have freedom of speech in Belize so the sign stays until BECOL fulfills its obligations under the Environmental Compliance Plan (ECP).
We have no big budget for ad campaigns to counter BECOL's claims of being environmentally conscientious. We only have zinc signs, the media and people power to get the message out that our river is sick, the water and fish are unhealthy and we are not given information about the dams.
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Belice
The Belize Institute of Environmental Law and Policy (BELPO), esta luchando en contra de las represas por los problemas ambientales que provocan desde hace 12 años cuando se construyó la primera represa del país. Participamos en la coalición contra el petróleo, porque cada kilometro de Belice ha sido concesionado para la exploración y explotación de petróleo. Continuaremos la lucha en contra de las represas que están en construcción y las propuestas, así como de explotación de petróleo.
El VI Encuentro Mesoamericano de la REDLAR exige a la Organización de las Naciones Unidas (ONU) que elimine de los Mecanismos de Desarrollo Limpio a todos los proyectos hidroeléctricos porque, como está debidamente comprobado, contaminan y destruyen la naturaleza contribuyendo al calentamiento global, a la vez que transgreden los derechos de los pueblos. Condenamos el uso de fondos públicos por parte de los bancos y corporaciones financieras internacionales para la construcción de hidroeléctricas en detrimento de la vida y la naturaleza. The Belize Institute of Environmental Law and Policy adhiere a esta propuesta.
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Canadian-owned dam shocks Belize River with discharges, threatens river ecology
Thursday, September 3, 2009
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The Chalillo Dam on the Macal River in Belize is facing renewed criticism after a local watchdog group released photographs that show the dam is discharging discoloured orange-brown sediment-laden water, polluting downstream users and threatening the river's ecology and ocean reefs where it empties into the Caribbean Sea.
The Belize Electric Company Limited (BECOL), the owner and operator of the dam, which is owned by the Newfoundland-based power company, Fortis, blames the discoloured water on upstream activity. According to BECOL President of Operations, Steven Usher, unregulated deforestation and Guatemalans who steal into Belize to cut xate palms for sale to the flower business have exposed the forest soils—which then get washed into the river during storms and floods.
Candy Gonzalez, President of the Belize Institute of Environmental Law and Policy (BELPO), which released the aerial photos, doesn’t buy it. She says that the photos show the water going into the dam’s reservoir is clear, while the water discharged from the dam is an orange-brown colour.
According to Gonzalez, the photos show that the problem does not come from the rains, run-off from the Mountain Pine Ridge or farmers—which are downstream of the dam or Guatemalans who are in a different watershed altogether.
Rather, says Gonzalez and other experts, the photos show that the dam is the source of the contaminated water: it is the shock discharge of the accumulated sediment from behind the dam that is causing the problem.
BECOL’s Steven Usher admits that they are discharging the reservoir’s contents through a valve at the base of the dam, but claims that this is routine “for power generation or to meet our environmental requirements.”
Dr. Guy Lanza, Professor of Microbiology and the Director of the Environmental Science Program at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst has condemned the flushing in a memo to BELPO, calling the “release of sediments with severe turbidity contaminants” from the Chalillo dam “inexcusable.” Moreover, he says, it “poses immediate risks to human health, livestock health, and the ecology of the Macal, Mopan, and Belize rivers.”
The cause of the problem is clear, he says. “The extremely high water turbidity clearly evident in the photographs of the sediment contamination are the result of both organic and inorganic sediment material including silts and clays released from the dam gates to the Macal River.” The clay material is especially worrisome, Dr. Lanza says, because it creates “colloidal suspensions” that will not readily settle and “will remain an environmental problem for an extended period producing negative effects on humans and livestock and harmful ecological effects on the rivers receiving the turbidity contaminants.”
According to Dr. Lanza, the level of turbidity in the water is hundreds, if not thousands, of times higher than the standards set by the World Health Organization and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Turbidity contaminants are particularly dangerous, says Dr. Lanza, because they hide disease-causing waterborne microbes (bacteria, viruses, protozoa) and interfere with the effectiveness of disinfection chemicals (such as chlorine) used to purify the water for drinking purposes.
The river ecology will also suffer, says Dr. Lanza, because the high turbidity blocks light entering the river which kills off the photosynthesizing river plants and deprives the river of oxygen—which then kills fish and other aquatic life. The abrasive effect of the suspended materials on fish and other biota – a sort of “wet sandblasting” says Dr. Lanza – is also cause for concern.
According to local newspaper reports, especially worrying is Dr. Lanza’s assessment that the water is not safe to drink and is impossible to purify. He recommends “immediate action … to halt the release of additional sediments from the Chalillo dam, and to quickly respond with appropriate remediation strategies to reduce the threats to humans, livestock, and the Macal, Mopan and Belize river ecosystems.”
There have been reports recently that residents in the area are suffering from skin rashes, vomiting and diarrhoea. Local doctors are telling their patients to avoid using water from the river for cleaning or cooking.
The Chalillo dam has been contentious ever since it was brought online in November 2005—after a five-year, international campaign to stop it. Environmental groups sought protection for the area’s diverse wildlife and local villages. Upon completion, the dam was $9-million over budget and has since caused electricity rates to rise.
Environmental groups have long accused Fortis of protecting its profits while passing on the risks and costs of its operations to Belizean citizens. This is just one more example, says Patricia Adams, Executive Director of Probe International, a Canadian environmental group opposed to the dam. “Fortis is harming public health and safety by discharging contaminated sediment-loaded water from behind its dam. Fortis shareholders should pay to provide safe water supplies to those affected populations downstream and take all immediate measures to halt the release of these damaging discharges.”
For more information contact:
Probe International
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Belize Guide to Public Participation Proving Useful February 16, 2011
Last June, ELAW helped partners at the Belize Institute of Environmental Law and Policy (BELPO) publish a guide to help citizens in Belize participate actively and effectively in decision-making processes that impact the local environment. In other words, if a concerned citizen sees a fancy new beach resort under development, and is curious about what impacts the project will have on the area, the Guide tells them where to start and how to get the information they need. Or if a citizen notices illegal activity, such as the destruction of a mangrove forest or the dredging of a protected lagoon, the Guide gives them agency contacts for reporting illegal activites and tips for holding government agencies accountable for enforcing the law. elawspotlight.wordpress.com/.../
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DAM BREAK EMERGENCY RESPONSE INFORMATION SYSTEM
Emergence, dam break, information system, Internet-based technology. Abstract:
Although considered of low risk, incidents with dams may cause significant ...
www.iscram.org/dmdocuments/ISCRAM2004_S1_3.pdf - En caché - Similares
WMS - dambreak modeling, dam breach modeling, flood wave ...
The Watershed Modeling System (WMS) is a comprehensive graphical modeling
... and information regarding the storage and failure of the dam being modeled. ...
www.ems-i.com/WMS/WMS.../wms_overview.html - En caché - Similares
DAM-BREAK FLOOD RISK MANAGEMENT. AN INTEGRATED ...
Sub-project 3 - Social Impact of Dam Break Risk;. - Sub-project 4 - Computer
Aided Decision Support System;. - Sub-project 5 - Integrated Emergency and ...
www.hrwallingford.co.uk/mitch/Workshop3/.../paper_de%20almeida.pdf - En caché - Similares
Public Forum on Belize Dam Break Warning System This Weekend ...
10 Dec 2009 ... Residents of the Cayo district in Belize who live downstream from the hydro
electric facility operated by Belize Electric Company Limited ...
www.belizetips.com/.../public-forum-on-belize-dam-break-warning-system-this-weekend-.html - En caché - Similares
