The Peruvian Government declared for a period of 90 working days, an environmental emergency in the geographical area of Talara province, Piura region, where an oil spill occurred last December 20th.
The objective is to ensure sustainable management of the affected area, through recovering and remediation to mitigate environmental pollution, in order to protect the health of the population.
By Ministerial Resolution 00443-2024-Minam, published in the extraordinary edition of the Legal Resolutions bulletin of the Official Gazette El Peruano.
The ‘Immediate and short-term action plan’ to address the environmental emergency is also approved. The execution of this plan will be the responsibility of the public entities involved, in coordination with the Piura Regional Government and the respective municipality.
The actions included in the document have been validated by representatives of the Environmental Assessment and Control Agency (OEFA), the National Service for Natural Areas Protected by the State (SERNANP), the National Water Authority (ANA), the Ministry of Energy and Mines, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism, the Ministry of Health, the Supervisory Agency for Investment in Energy and Mines.
Also, the Ministry of Production, the National Fund for Fisheries Development (Fondepes), the National Authority for Sanitary and Inocuity in Fisheries and Aquaculture (Sanipes), the Peruvian Sea Institute (Imarpe), the General Directorate of Coast Guard and Coast Guard (Dicapi), the National Port Authority (APN), the National Forestry and Wildlife Service (Serfor), the Piura Regional Government and Petroperú S.A.
On December 21, 2024, Petróleos del Perú (Petroperú)., the current operating company of the Talara Refinery's Multibuoy Terminal, reported the environmental emergency to OEFA.
At 11:29 PM on December 20th, as detailed in the report, after moving the underwater lines of the Talara Refinery's Multibuoy Terminal, barrier personnel observed the presence of hydrocarbon iridescence in the sea.
"According to the aforementioned report, OEFA communicated to the General Directorate of Environmental Quality that, during the supervision action from December 21 to 23, 2024, it verified the displacement of the spilled hydrocarbon in the intertidal and subtidal zones, covering areas of 47.14 and 228.74 hectares, respectively, from the Talara Refinery to Cabo Blanco beach," is stated in the considerations.
Furthermore, it indicates that on the beaches of Las Capullanas, Punta Malacas, Yapato, El Alto, Peña Negra, and Retín de Cabo Blanco, the organoleptic presence of hydrocarbons in seawater and sediments was evident, as well as the impact on marine fauna, which "constitutes a high risk of exposure of this contaminant to the population."
"Based on the aforementioned information, as well as the coordination carried out with the competent entities, the General Directorate of Environmental Quality, through the report, determines that, since a hydrocarbon spill has occurred, it may be composed of parameters such as total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) and aromatic hydrocarbons, which are basic indicator parameters established in the Regulations of Law 28804, which regulates the declaration of an environmental emergency," it adds.
Likewise, it specifies that areas with the presence of hydrocarbons have been identified in the intertidal and subtidal zones of 47.14 and 228.74 hectares, respectively, from the Talara Refinery to Cabo Blanco beach, covering coastal formations in the districts of Pariñas, Lobitos, and El Alto.
The aforementioned report indicates that the occurrence of a sudden event that generated the emission and/or discharge of hazardous substances was corroborated, due to the hydrocarbon spill that occurred in the underwater lines of the Talara Refinery's Multibuoy Terminal, in the district of Pariñas; and no environmental management instruments are evident that involve recovery plans for the area of evaluation of the environmental emergency declaration.
It also indicates that the impact was recorded in the Cabo Blanco-El Ñuro polygon due to the presence of hydrocarbons on the surface of the sea and on the southern shore of the Batería Peña Negra beach of the Grau Tropical Sea National Reserve (RNMTG).
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(END) JOT/ JMP / MDV
Publicado: 26/12/2024