The opinion by the Canal de la Patria is based on the “joint responsibility” of the National State and the province of Santiago del Estero in the project that causes a serious harm to the fauna and the water quality.
The judicial litigation centered on the ecological impact of the public work “Nuevo Canal de la Patria” has reached a defining stage. The Procuración General de la Nación (PGN) has issued an opinion of notable importance that supports the environmental cause of the Canal de la Patria, promoting the legal action initiated by the organizations Aves Argentinas, Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina and Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (FARN).
Dated September 10, the PGN determined that this controversy falls under the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation. This interpretation means that the case must be resolved directly by the highest court of the country, without the intervention of lower courts. The pronouncement, favorable to the plaintiff NGOs, is based on the identification of shared and joint responsibilities among the defendant entities.
Fundamentals of the High Court’s jurisdiction
To uphold the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, the Procuración General emphasized the agreements signed between the Province of Santiago del Estero and various national agencies. The opinion specifically mentions the agreements with the then National Entity of Water Works and Sanitation (ENOHSA) and the defunct Secretariat of Infrastructure and Water Policy, under the national Ministry of Public Works.
These pacts established joint, specific, and shared obligations for the execution of the project.
According to the PGN’s analysis, the existence of these contractual responsibilities makes both the National State and the Province of Santiago del Estero substantial parties to the litigation, both having a direct interest in its resolution.
The Procuración concluded that it is unfeasible to reach an effective solution, which simultaneously safeguards the right of defense of those involved and repairs the protected good (the biodiversity of the Gran Chaco ecoregion), without the participation of all parties.
The role of the National State, operating through ENOHSA and the Secretariat of Infrastructure, included the design of the canal and the commitment to provide financial assistance for the project. Likewise, the Nation reserved the right to conduct technical and financial audits, retaining the power of supervision and control.
The province, on the other hand, is responsible for having been the executor and implementer of the project, assuming the tasks of construction, operation, and maintenance.
The context of the environmental damage lawsuit of the Canal de la Patria
The lawsuit was filed on June 23 by the three organizations mentioned. It is a lawsuit for environmental damage of collective incidence directed against the Province of Santiago del Estero and the National State.
The project in question is a modernization of the Canal de la Patria, whose original structure dates back to the late 1970s. The project, planned in 2020, consisted of the cement lining of a 180-kilometer stretch.
The central issue of the lawsuit lies in that the renovated canal, with its steep cement walls, acts as a “mortal trap“. The local fauna that approaches to drink or tries to cross it falls inside and cannot get out, dying drowned. This situation causes an accumulation of animal carcasses in a state of putrefaction, severely affecting the quality of the water the canal transports and posing a serious risk to human health.
Simultaneously, the project promotes habitat fragmentation. The concrete structure stands as a physical barrier of more than 200 kilometers that prevents the free movement of fauna, restricting genetic flow and increasing the risk of extinction for some species in the region.
After receiving the Procuración’s opinion, the case file has begun to circulate among the offices of the Supreme Court Ministers. The plaintiff organizations await a prompt decision from the court that includes urgent measures to stop the animal mortality, ensure water quality, and order the execution of a Comprehensive Damage Remediation Plan.
