Constitution court issues broad order on pineapple pollution
- by crv.staff
- 20.06.09
- 9:08 PM UTC
- Filed in Costa Rica, Eco-Friendly Development
The Sala IV constitutional court has ordered an inter-institutional response to agricultural chemical pollution in the canton of Siquirres.
Photo: Wikipedia
The court ordered three government agencies to join together to eliminate the pollution and invested the health minister, María Luisa Ávila Agüero, with broad powers to shut down the Del Monte pineapple packing plant and plantation if a solution was not reached or agreed upon.
The decision came from two appeals by residents in the communities of El Cairo, Luisiana, La Francia and Milano.
In addition to the Ministerio de Salud, the court order names the Ministerio de Ambiente, Energía y Telecomunicaciones and the Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados.
The Tribunal Ambiental Administrativo, a dependency of the environmental ministry, already is trying to solve the problem. The Tribunal closed down the plantation and the packing plant and then allowed both to reopen with conditions. Del Monte purchased the property less than a year ago and is trying to build a water retention system to keep the agricultural chemicals from the ground water.
The court order goes one step further than the actions of the Tribunal in that it orders the ministry to remove the chemicals from the local environment. The court said that the health minister could order the pineapple producer to cease using chemicals. The offending chemicals are mainly insecticides and herbicides.
The court said that the chemicals were getting into the ground water and water supplies for the communities. The ruling, released Thursday, said that residents have suffered unspecified injuries.
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