{"id":50362287,"date":"2023-01-17T18:21:32","date_gmt":"2023-01-17T18:21:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dialogochino.net\/?p=62287"},"modified":"2023-06-08T13:40:10","modified_gmt":"2023-06-08T12:40:10","slug":"362265-repsol-oil-spill-one-year-on-no-justice-in-sight-for-peruvian-fishers","status":"publish","type":"photo_story","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/uncategorized\/362265-repsol-oil-spill-one-year-on-no-justice-in-sight-for-peruvian-fishers\/","title":{"rendered":"Repsol oil spill: One year on, no justice in sight for Peruvian fishers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A dark, greasy layer sits upon the water, sullying all that it touches as it laps against the pillars of the pier. Here in Anc\u00f3n, a popular seaside resort to the north of Lima, residents have had to learn to live with this stain on their seas in the year since the oil spill of 15 January 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What began as a spill of 0.16 barrels of oil, as reported by Repsol, the Spanish energy giant behind the incident, had three days later seen some 6,000 barrels pour from one of its refineries. By the end of the month, the Peruvian authorities were reckoning with a major disaster, estimating that\u00a0more than 11,000 barrels<\/a>\u00a0of oil had been spilled into the country\u2019s waters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Restos<\/div>
Oil stains the water in the harbour of Anc\u00f3n, Peru, one year after the Respol spill in January 2022 (Image: Leslie Moreno Custodio \/ Di\u00e1logo Chino)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe pollution is still at the bottom of the sea,\u201d says Luis Chiroque, a fisherman for 46 years, and president of the Anc\u00f3n Artisanal Fishers Association. He and his colleagues remember what it was like to fish without worry, carrying on traditions and practices they inherited from their parents. The sea, he says, \u201cis our second home, but we no longer live in the same way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The spill from the La Pampilla refinery \u2013 located 25 kilometres south of Anc\u00f3n in Ventanilla, and managed by Repsol since 1996 \u2013 has been described as the\u00a0worst ecological disaster<\/a>\u00a0to have struck Peru\u2019s capital in recent memory. The incident polluted some 15,000 hectares of coastal and marine area, impacting over 10,000 nearby residents and leading to\u00a0more than 1,850 animal deaths<\/a>. Abnormal waves following an underwater volcano eruption near Tonga were said to have caused the spill, though the Peruvian government was quick to also highlight\u00a0alleged negligence<\/a>\u00a0by Repsol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Luis<\/div>
Luis Chiroque, a lifelong fisher and president of the Anc\u00f3n Artisanal Fishers Association, has not been out to fish in the year since the oil spill (Image: Leslie Moreno Custodio \/ Di\u00e1logo Chino)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Although the government declared<\/a> a state of environmental emergency, and an immediate, short-term action plan<\/a> was approved to deal with the disaster, in November the Peruvian environment ministry\u2019s Agency for Environmental Assessment and Enforcement (OEFA) reported<\/a> that 71 sites remained contaminated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On a recent visit to the affected area, Di\u00e1logo Chino spoke with fishers from eight different associations, all of whom attested to ongoing contamination. Repsol, however, claims<\/a> that the sea and beaches are now clean. One year on from the spill, coastal communities remain locked in disputes over the state of the environment and compensation \u2013 with many feeling that no solution is in sight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pasamayo, the forgotten bay<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It is 8am and a group of 30 fishers have gathered near the cliffs of Pasamayo, a coastal area just north of Anc\u00f3n. It is known to be a difficult place to access \u2013 but not for Germ\u00e1n Melchor. Day after day, he fishes here for sole, grunt and morwong, species that inhabit rocks and whose meat is popular for their flavour and texture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Acantilado<\/div>
Pasamayo, situated to the north of Lima. The area\u2019s rocky coastline has provided habitat for numerous species of popular fish, but has reportedly made clean-up operations difficult since the January 2022 oil spill (Image: Leslie Moreno Custodio \/ Di\u00e1logo Chino)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey say the beaches are clean, but here is the proof,\u201d says 57-year-old Melchor, as he points towards the signs of oil contamination around the Pasamayo bay. He has been a fisherman here since he was 17, and is now president of an artisanal fishers association in Pasamayo that brings together 45 local workers. Following the Repsol spill, he fears for the future: \u201cSix years from now, who\u2019s going to give me work? I\u2019m not going to go fishing in that oil site and feed my children or sell what I catch.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Melchor says the local fishers had never previously needed help from the government as they had generated sufficient income of their own, but since the spill they do not have the necessary resources. He tells us that one of his sons has had to stop his education because the family could no longer afford to pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Artisanal<\/div>
Artisanal fisher Germ\u00e1n Melchor points to the contamination that still stains the shoreline at Pasamayo (Image: Leslie Moreno Custodio \/ Di\u00e1logo Chino)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

As Melchor guided Di\u00e1logo Chino along the route taken by the fishers in his association, the smell of oil was noticeable, while dark stains and oily residues were clearly visible on the rocks along the shore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No action to remedy the spill at Pasamayo has yet been taken. In its assessment of clean-up operations after the spill,\u00a0OEFA<\/a>\u00a0reported that Repsol\u2019s Peruvian subsidiary had described Pasamayo as \u201cinaccessible\u201d due to its location and landscape, with work in the area presenting an \u201cintolerable level of risk\u201d, even with the use of protective equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not going to go fishing in that oil site and feed my children or sell what I catch<\/blockquote><\/cite><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A spokesperson for OEFA told Di\u00e1logo Chino via email that the agency \u201cdoes not have the function of determining, recommending and\/or approving decontamination and remediation methodologies for affected areas. However, if areas affected by the La Pampilla environmental emergency are identified, it is up to the company to remediate those areas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to statements by the fishers, the company told them that the area would not be cleaned. Di\u00e1logo Chino approached Refiner\u00eda La Pampilla SAA (Relapasa), the Repsol subsidiary responsible for the Ventanilla refinery, over its clean-up plans, but the company declined to comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Residuos<\/div>
Germ\u00e1n Melchor points to a layer of oil residue that remains on the rocks at Pasamayo (Image: Leslie Moreno Custodio \/ Di\u00e1logo Chino)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Juan Carlos Riveros, a marine biologist and scientific director of Oceana Peru, an NGO, told Di\u00e1logo Chino that the clean-up has not been uniform across all affected areas, and highlighted a lack of planning after the disaster: \u201cIf you declare that an area like Pasamayo is going to be a sacrifice area \u2013 that is to say, that it is not going to be cleaned up \u2013 it should be accompanied by a permanent monitoring and follow-up plan. But none of that happened. The oil that is in that area is going to be carried by the waves and go out into the sea.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sources from the Peruvian Ombudsman\u2019s Office told Di\u00e1logo Chino that a total of 1,050 fishers from 22 associations have united to demand environmental remediation and compensation for the loss of their source of income. Offers of compensation have been made to them by the company, but they have not accepted. They say it is not known when, or if, the areas where they used to fish will be restored, nor when they will be able to fish safely again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rehabilitation plan pending<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Among the various actions and sanctions imposed on Repsol by Peruvian entities to try to remedy the spill came OEFA\u2019s order for the company to draw up an environmental rehabilitation plan. But the deadline<\/a> for its submission is 4 October 2023 \u2013 nearly 21 months after the oil spill blighted the Peruvian coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lissette V\u00e1squez, deputy for the environment at the Ombudsman\u2019s Office, told Di\u00e1logo Chino that her department has requested information from Repsol and OEFA, as well as Peru\u2019s ministries of health, energy and mining, and production \u201cbecause the people in those areas need to know whether they can restart fishing activities or not. We are a year after the spill and studies are still being carried out,\u201d she said. According to the United Nations, the damage caused by the spill will affect the Peruvian coast for between six and 10 years<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ombudsman\u2019s Office and OEFA told Di\u00e1logo Chino, since 2011 three oil spills have been reported by Relapasa at the La Pampilla refinery. Following the 2022 incident, OEFA imposed coercive fines \u2013 those requiring compliance by a fixed deadline \u2013 of 2 million soles (US$530,000), which were later cancelled. However, the sanctions for a range of administrative failures (see table below) amount to 75 million soles (US$19.9 million). None of them have yet been paid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n