Peru will fine Repsol for missing deadlines to respond to an oil spill | News

Peru's Environment Minister, Rubén Ramírez, reported this Thursday that the Environmental Assessment and Enforcement Agency (OEFA) will give several deadlines to the Spanish company Repsol to carry out the cleaning and sanitation of the area affected by the oil spill or they will apply fines. .

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The terms will be two, five, eight, and ten days; and they must carry out actions to clean up aquifers, the earth's crust, as well as to identify critical points, among others, the official said.

In this sense, Ramírez warned that the deadlines are expiring and that they are not being flexible with the measures to be applied, which can lead to greater sanctions, and even the paralysis of the company.

For her part, the president of the OEFA, Miriam Alegría, asserted that the first term, in which Repsol had to identify the affected areas, expired on January 25.

In addition, he reaffirmed that if the deadlines continue to expire, the measures will be asserted, and in the event of non-compliance with a preventive measure, the application of a fine is being processed.

Alegría explained that on Wednesday the second term expired, which had as its purpose the conservation, custody and rescue of flora and fauna; He added that on Friday they will check if Repsol failed to comply and, in that case, they will apply the coercive measure.

Meanwhile, workers from the Ministry of the Environment and volunteers continue with the cleaning work of the approximately 1,739,000 square meters affected, and the 20 beaches affected by the disaster.

It is worth mentioning that this Wednesday it was found that on January 25 there was a second spill of which the amount of crude oil spilled has not yet been confirmed.

Empresa Petroperú collaborates in sanitation

The state-owned company Petroperú reported that it is collaborating with the work to contain the oil spill at the La Pampilla refinery, on January 15, in which nearly 6,000 barrels of crude oil were dumped into the sea.

The company provided Repsol with materials and equipment required to collaborate with the sanitation work at the Callao Naval Base.

Petroperú explained that the Contingency Plan for Hydrocarbon Spills in the Sea is part of the Corporate Contingency Plan of Petroperú SA, and is part of its management policy for quality, environment, safety and health at work.

The Prosecutor's Office demands that Repsol officials be prohibited from leaving the country

The Specialized Prosecutor for Environmental Matters of Peru requested an order from the Judiciary that prevents Repsol's president, Jaime Fernández Cuesta, and three other officials from leaving the country for 18 months.

According to the document presented by prosecutor Ariel Tapia Gómez, there is a possibility that Fernández is involved in crimes related to risk liability and environmental violations.

The other three company officials who are requested to be barred from leaving are Renzo Tejada Mackenzie, Gisela Posadas Jhong and José Reyes Ruiz.

It is worth mentioning that there are several senior officials of the Spanish company Repsol who are under investigation for the oil spill in Ventanilla.