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CDE sues Celco for Licancel plant contamination(BNamericas.com Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) The Chilean state defense council (CDE) has filed a lawsuit against wood pulp company Celulosa Arauco (Celco) for the damages caused by industrial wastewater discharges from the latter's region VII Licancel plant into the Mataquito river, local paper La Segunda reported. If CDE wins its 2bn-peso (US$3.9mn) suit, CDE will invest the funds in the recovery of the Mataquito river's wetland ecosystem. On June 4 and 5, some 20,000m3 of untreated industrial liquid waste was released into the Lourdes reservoir, which leads to Mataquito. The spillage was the result of a damaged pipeline in the plant's wastewater treatment facility. A second spillage of about 50m3 took place on June 18. The lawsuit also calls for a study to analyze the spillage's effect upon the area's flora and fauna. The Mataquito river is part of a biodiversity reserve in region VII, also known as Maule. CDE is expected to file another lawsuit during the next few days, this time against state oil company Enap after a damaged pipeline led to a 350m3 oil spill into the San Vicente bay in region VIII on May 25. Copyright 2006 BNamericas.com |