Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq stated on Wednesday that supervision revealed several facilities undisclosed in IMIP's environmental impact analysis (Amdal) document.
In addition, environmental supervisors identified approximately 179 hectares of land clearing directly adjacent to the IMIP area.
"PT IMIP, as the area manager, must comply with the environmental approval and Amdal environmental documents. PT IMIP must stop activities undisclosed in its environmental approval," Nurofiq emphasized.
The minister explained that these findings were based on the results of direct supervision by the environmental supervision team, coordinated by the Deputy for Environmental Law Enforcement on assignment from the environment minister.
The PT IMIP industrial area, covering two thousand hectares, now serves as a major industrial hub, with 28 companies operating and 14 more under construction.
According to Nurofiq, the supervision uncovered several serious violations threatening environmental sustainability in the area.
These include the construction of factories and other activities spanning over 1,800 hectares outside the Amdal document and the discovery of piles of nickel slag and tailings without a permit, covering more than 10 hectares, with a volume estimated to exceed 12 million tons.
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His team also found unhealthy air quality in the IMIP industrial area, as indicated by ambient air monitoring results for Total Suspended Particulate (TSP) and Particulate Matter (PM) 10, which exceeded quality standards.
The poor air quality was attributed to 24 emission sources among PT IMIP tenants that lacked Continuous Emissions Monitoring System (CEMS) equipment.
The minister further pointed out that PT IMIP does not have a communal Wastewater Treatment Plant (IPAL) with improperly managed wastewater, resulting in environmental pollution.
The monitoring team also found environmental violations at the Bahomakmur Integrated Waste Processing Site (TPST), which lacks environmental approval.
The ministry's Deputy for Environmental Law Enforcement, Rizal Irawan, said his side would impose multiple legal instruments on companies proven to have violated regulations in the form of Government Coercion and Administrative Fines.
"We will also order an environmental audit of the entire IMIP industrial area. For the findings of the dumping of B3 tailing waste, we will continue the criminal and civil legal processes," Irawan remarked.
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Translator: Prisca Triferna, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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