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Mariquina: Government Denies Arauco Company's Maritime Concession Request to Install Sea Pipeline

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The Ministry of Defense denied a major maritime concession request submitted by the company Celulosa Arauco in San José de Mariquina, Los Ríos region, for the installation of a sea pipeline intended for the discharge of effluents from the Valdivia Plant.

After 16 years of administrative, legal, and technical processing, the government ministry ruled on the request made by the company Celulosa Arauco y Constitución S.A. for a major maritime concession covering an area between the beach and the seabed in the coastal sector of Mehuín, in the aforementioned municipality.

The purpose was to install a submarine outfall pipeline for discharging treated effluents from the Valdivia Plant, spanning over 2,200 meters in length and one meter in diameter, with a validity of 50 years, along with a complementary request for a final section of the pipeline.

The state agency, based on the analysis by the Chilean Navy, weighed recommendations from the Undersecretariat of Fisheries, the National Fisheries Service, and the Regional Commission for Coastal Border Use (Crubc) of Los Ríos, which argued that granting the concession would be incompatible with the activities of both artisanal fishermen and indigenous communities, as well as with the benthic resources of the area.

The Presidential Delegate of Los Ríos, Jorge Alvial, among other things, called for respecting the decision of the Maritime Authority. "There is a reaffirmation of an agreement by La Cruz, which at the time rejected and recommended against approving the sea pipeline in Mehuín, and what the Navy does is confirm that recommendation. Therefore, we call on institutions to continue operating in this manner and to provide clarity regarding the scope of the regulations we will accept at an institutional level, in accordance with current laws, and to obviously respect what was established by the maritime authority," he stated.

The regional governor and president of Crubc Los Ríos, Luis Cuvertino, stated that an industrial-purpose sea pipeline is incompatible in Mehuín, beyond environmental aspects, and praised the resolution. "This is a substantial step forward for the region, ensuring that such an important industrial process has the least possible impacts. Today, the situation that had long been contentious for Mehuín, its inhabitants, and its fishermen is resolved, and I can certainly qualify this as very good news for the Los Ríos Region," he said.

Arauco Company reported that they received the resolution notification and are analyzing it to determine their course of action, following inquiries by La Radio about whether they will maintain their intention to proceed with the sea outfall project or challenge the Ministry of Defense's decision.

It should be noted that Celco's sea pipeline project caused divisions within the Mehuín community and protests against the initiative, leading the company to implement new internal processes for treating industrial waste.

Source:BiobioChile