This Monday the trial for environmental damage began in Puerto Madryn against two hierarchical responsibles of the company Conarpesa. The investigation started in 2020 and they were charged with alleged environmental damage.
The trial, which is oral, is presided over by Judge Patricia Reyes, and it has the accusation of Chief Prosecutor Alex Williams and Prosecutor Florencia Bianchi, from the Environmental Crimes Agency. The details of the case and what the sentence could be.
The defendants and the trial proceedings
According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the accused individuals are Nadine Parry, plant manager, and Brahim Yoosef Vargas, responsible for effluent treatment.
The hearings will be conducted by Judge Patricia Reyes, with the participation of Chief Prosecutor Alex Williams and Prosecutor Florencia Bianchi, from the Special Agency for Environmental Crimes.
What the investigation says. (Photo: Jornada newspaper).
The investigation began in 2020, when a video went viral showing a pink liquid with a strong odor being poured directly into the sea from the Fisheries Industrial Park.
Based on this material, the Chief Prosecutor ordered an official investigation that included technical expertise, inspections, and laboratory analysis.
Results of the expertise
Criminalistics personnel, municipal Environmental department, and scientists from CENPAT-CONICET confirmed the existence of an unauthorized bypass at the company’s plant. Liquids would have been discharged through there without the proper treatment.
The studies detected pollution levels much higher than allowed, with the presence of Escherichia coli in quantities up to 2000 times above the legal limit.
The discharge occurred directly into the New Gulf, an area of high environmental and touristic value, which also houses protected marine species and is part of the coastal ecosystem surrounding the city of Puerto Madryn.
The damage occurred in New Gulf, Puerto Madryn. (Photo: Wikipedia).
A trial that could be historic
This trial constitutes the first criminal process in Chubut against company executives for an alleged environmental crime.
From the Prosecutor’s Office, they explained that they seek to establish the criminal responsibility of the accused, since the crime is configured when the discharge is potentially harmful to human health and causes environmental contamination.
This process could set an important precedent in terms of corporate responsibility for environmental crimes in the country.
It is expected that the hearings will take place during the next few weeks, with the presentation of witnesses, technicians, and officials who participated in the investigation.
