A BAD MONTH FOR PERTAMINA

This July may have been the worst month in Pertamina’s history. In Jakarta, the public constantly revile this supplier of petroleum, because of the scarcity of gasoline and kerosene. In other places, the focus on Pertamina has been no less intense. In South Sumatra, for example, the daily Sriwijaya Post (18 July 2000) published news regarding “179 companies which do not yet have permission to dispose of waste.” This article mentions that Pertamina is one of the companies which do not yet fulfilled the qualifications for a Waste Disposal Permit.

CLASS ACTION
Not much has yet occurred, especially if we consider class actions by Walhi, SPLP, and IMPALM against Pertamina in Prabumulih, Muara, Enim, South Sumatra, with regard to Pertamina’s negligence which caused an oil spill near the processing facility at Batu Kuning Simpang Empat.

This is not Pertamina’s only offense. In handling the waste spilled from its production, Pertamina used an outdated method: burning! This classic method only caused worse damage, especially throughout the Kelekar watershed. Pertamina’s negligence has brought about a series of events amounting to large-scale damage. They have damaged biological diversity, and killed aquatic organisms as well as many species of plants used by the people, such as banana and bamboo.

It is not surprising that charges were brought jointly by WALHI, IMPALM, and SPLP, demanding that Pertamina take responsibility. They jointly issued several position statements. Among other things, they accuse Pertamina of being late in responding to the spill, so that it spread 1.5 kilometers along the Kelekar River. The burning of spilled oil in the river was not preceded by informing the people and did not involve the people in making the decision. Pertamina did not designate a safe area at the location of the spill, did not put up any signs to guard against possible misfortunes. Strong protests were also lodged against the Muara Enim regional government and relevant agencies.

The response received was fairly appreciative. At least the parliament at Muara Enim was willing for facilitate a meeting between Pertamina, the NGOs, and the local government. The meeting only solidified the proof of Pertamina’s negligence in processing the industrial waste from their operations. According to the chairman of SPLP, Sumarson, during fifty years of operation, Pertamina has never accepted responsibility for the environmental damage it has caused.

Unfortunately, instead of admitting its fault, Pertamina made a lot of promises and excuses. For example, Pertamina promised not to dispose of liquid waste into the Kelekar River until the year 2000. Pertamina even dared to guarantee zero waste through the middle of 2001. They also promised to apply advanced technology, by injecting the liquid waste from the boring process to a disused well.

FINAL ADMISSION
Even though it had to go to great lengths and use many methods demonstrating, taking polls, making presentations at hearings with the parliament finally the fruits of the class action could be harvested. The suit was successful because of the mass pressure that came in response to the devastating oil spill in the Kelekar River. This disaster actually happened during a break in ongoing meetings between Pertamina, the regional government, and NGOs.

In the end, Pertamina admitted fault and asked forgiveness for their negligence. They admitted that many factors led to the pollution tragedy, among them: insufficient capacity of the pump; insufficient size of the water pipe; imperfect treatment of the waste; the storage capacity of the injection well was disturbed.

SOURCE: Sriwijaya Pos, Surat Pembaca, Palembang, 26 July 2000; Surat Protes Bersama SPLP ED WALHI Sumsel- IMPALM, No. 001/SPB/VII/2000, “Mensikapi Pembakaran di Sungai Kelakar dan Tanah Adat Dusun Prabumulih Akibat Tumpahnya Minyak Pertamina OEP Prabumulih”, Prabumulih, 19 Juli 2000; Notulensi Pertemuan Komisi D DPRD Kabupaten Muara Enim Pertamina OEP II Prabumulih Warga Dusun Prabumulih (dan SPLP), Dok. WALHI Sumsel, Prabumulih, 3 Juli 2000; “Pertamina Akhirnya Mengakui Telah Melakukan Pencemaran di Sungai Kelekar”, laporan WALHI Sumsel (KK) diterima, 22 Juli 2000.

For further information: Contact JATAM
(Indonesian Mining Advocacy Network)

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