Ministries differ over environmental ruling
Saturday, January 26 2002 - 02:03 AM WIB
While the ministry of environment insists that the ruling must stay to protect the environment, the ministry of mineral resources and energy says the ruling would shut down the country?s mining industry.
The Koran Tempo daily quoted Minister of Environment Nabiel Makarim as saying Friday that the ruling was important to protect the environment and his office had no intention to revise.
He said that the government would not allow investors to ruin the environment.
The ruling, signed by President Megawati Soekanoputri on Dec. 14, 2001, stipulated that no one is allowed to dispose waste either in the form of solid material or gas into water source or water.
Solid waste material includes those in the form of mud or slurry. One example is tailing waste material from mining activities. The giant gold mining PT Freeport Indonesia in the Papua province currently dispose its tailing waste into the Wanagon Lake.
Director general of mineral resources and geology Wimpy S. Tjejep, however, said that the full implementation of the ruling would spell an end to the country?s mining sector.
He said that the new ruling should at least be applied only to companies applying for new mining licenses or seeking to extend mining contracts. He said that mining companies which had started implementing mining activities prior to the issuance of the ruling should be exempted.
He, however, warned that applying the ruling to would-be mining investors would scare them away. ?No mining companies will enter if the ruling exists,? Wimpy said. (*)