Ministério Público Federal Procuradoria da República em Criciúma/SC 1. Who we are 2. History of coal mining in Santa Catarina 3. Environmental damages 4. The lawsuit 5. Environmental recovery projects 6. Technical challenges
Who we are Ministério Público Federal Federal Attorney's Office Bundesanwaltschaft
Attorney's Office in Brazil Criminal prosecution Electoral supervision Law enforcement Diffuse rights protection (civil action)
Diffuse rights protection Environmental protection Administrative morality Childhood rights Eldery rights Ethnic minorities rights Consumers rights
Attorney's Office in Brazil Federal Attorney's Office (Bundesanwaltschaft) Causes that matter to the Federation Listed in 1988 Constitution Mining, for example States Attorney's Offices (Staatsanwaltschaft) All other causes 27 States in the Federation
Who we are Darlan Airton Dias Federal Prosecutor Graduated in Engineering and Law Master's degree in Environmental Sciences Sidnei Luis da Cruz Zomer Geologist Federal Attorney's Office Technical Assistant
Santa Catarina State 95.736 km2 6.635.000 inhabitants GDP: E$ 56 billion HDI: 0,77 European colonization Italians, Germans, Portuguese,...
Criciúma 27 counties 602.000 inhabitants Coal mining Tile factories Clothing factories Metal industries Agriculture rice, tobbacco, poultry,...
Coal mining area 3 watersheds Tubarão Urussanga Araranguá
History of coal mining in S.C. 1890: Beginning of coal mining Slope mines Manual mining Coal used in public lighting in São Paulo and Rio
History of coal mining in S.C. World War I: production increased World War II: production largely increased Beginning of Brazil's industrialization Big opencast mines Mechanization Metallurgical coal, used in steel production
History of coal mining in S.C. Seventies (1970): production largely increased Oil international crises Government incentives Underground mines Metallurgical coal, used in steel production Energetic coal, used in electrical production
History of coal mining in S.C. Nineties (1990): production largely decreased Collor government opened Brazilian economy Arrival of imported coal Loss of competitiveness Coal used only in electrical production
History of coal mining in S.C. Nowadays: Coal used only in electrical production 300.000 tons of energetic coal per month 10 underground mines (+ 2 in opening process) 2 small opencast mines 8 companies operating
History of coal mining in S.C. Nowadays: Rooms and pillars method, without pillars recovery Continuous mining (3 mines) Explosives (7 mines) Continuous mining + explosives (2 mines)
Environmental damages High index of coal waste 35% coal; 65% waste Siltstone with Pyrite (FeS2) High rate of Sulphur (S) Presence of other metals: Fe, Mn, Al, Mg, etc.
Environmental damages Intensive use of water in coal processing Coal processing facilities installed on the banks of rivers No environmental care Weak legal control
Environmental damages More than one century of mining without environmental care 1890: beginning of coal mining 1980: edited first environmental laws in Brazil 2000: first environmental demands over coal mining companies in Santa Catarina
Fonte: Geológia Engenharia e Meio Ambiente Ltda. (fotografia de junho de 2008)
Fonte: Geológia Engenharia e Meio Ambiente Ltda. (fotografia de junho de 2008)
Environmental damages 5.100 hectares of degraded land areas Coal waste deposits Opencast mines 223 different areas The biggest area: 301,86 hectares The smallest area: 0,02 hectare
Environmental damages 816 abandoned mines 192 producing acid drainage (24%) 94 capturing water (12%) 202 opened and dry (25%) 328 closed and dry (40%)
Environmental damages Three watersheds contaminated Rivers with ph < 4,0 (under 3,0 in many points) Rivers with high rates of metals (Fe for example) Groundwater contaminated
The lawsuit Civil action proposed by Federal Attorney's Office against: Mining companies Directly caused the environmental damages The Federation (Federal Government) Was negligent in its duty to prevent the damages
The lawsuit 1993: started the lawsuit 2000: sentence 2006: beginning of execution 2008: recovery projects schedule established Different schedules to each defendant
The lawsuit - sentence Mining companies Directly caused the environmental damages The Federation (Federal Government) Was negligent in its duty to prevent the damages Conviction restricted to areas damaged by companies which went bankrupt (2 nowadays)
The lawsuit - responsibilities Defendant Hectares CSN 1.336 26% The Federation 1.215 24% Rio Deserto 615 12% Catarinense 522 10% Criciúma 457 9% Cocalit 181 4% Belluno 167 3% Metropolitana 146 3% Comin Gaspetro 137 3% Palermo Comin 95 2% outros São Domingos 86 2% Palermo 34 1% Ibramil 26 1% Others 70 1% 5.087 CSN União Rio Deserto Catarinense Criciúma Cocalit Belluno Metropolitana Gaspetro São Domingos Ibramil
The lawsuit - schedule Year expected conclusion Hectares % accumulated Works already completed 776 15% Works being evaluated 489 25% Delayed works 76 26% 2014 841 43% 2015 115 45% 2016 688 59% 2017 538 70% 2018 22 70% 2019 899 88%......... 2029 43 100%
Environmental recovery projects More quality to recovery projects Focus on water quality Stop acid drainage Riparian forest recovery Definition of future use
Environmental recovery projects 1º) Project 2º) Execution of project 3º) Monitoring period (minimum 5 years) Check the quality of recovery
Environmental recovery projects Areas legally defined as protection areas Along rivers Coal waste must be removed Native riparian forest must be implanted No use is allowed
Environmental recovery projects Other areas Coal waste can be removed or not If coal waste remains in the area Must be isolated from water Usually whit compacted clay + vegetation + drainage system Future use must preserve waterproofing
Monitoring system Surface water (140 points) Groundwater (25 deep wells + 10 been implanted) Ground cover (with orbital images) Biotic (with bioindicators)
Monitoring system Georeferenced database Annual reports Annual public hearing
Monitoring system www.jfsc.jus.br/acpdocarvao
Danke! Darlan Airton Dias darlan@mpf.mp.br Sidnei Luis da Cruz Zomer sidneizomer@prsc.mpf.gov.br +55 48 3411-2500