Companies criticized over environmental management

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan | Wed, 06/16/2010 10:24 AM

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The North Sumatra Environmental Management Board (BLH) announced that around 1,750 companies in various areas in the province may face sanctions for neglecting environmental management.
Head of Environmental Communication Planning Affairs Indra Utama said the number of companies without required documentation of their environmental management programs was much higher than the number of companies that are following the law.
Indra said 250 companies had currently acquired environmental management documents and only 25 companies were equipped with waste processing facilities.
“This shows that many companies in North Sumatra are not concerned about the environment.”
“Virtually no place in the province is free of pollution,” Indra told The Jakarta Post in Medan on Monday on the sidelines of a seminar on technical guidance on implementing the Environmental Law
Indra said that his office had received a proposal from the State Environment Ministry to evaluate 35 companies in North Sumatra involved in environmental pollution. The companies were located in several areas, such as Medan and Pematang Siantar cities, and Deli Serdang, Labuhan Batu, Asahan, Batubara and Langkat regencies.
Indra said the number of companies identified by the State Environment Ministry was too small when compared to the province’s estimated 1,800 companies.
“The actual number of companies recommended for evaluation is small. North Sumatra is home to 1,750 companies, many of which are ill-equipped to maintain environmental management documentation,” he said.
He said that based on his office’s preliminary evaluation, three companies were blacklisted: Two tapioca mills in Pematang Siantar city and a paper mill in Medan.
“The three companies will face a three-year prison sentence if found guilty,” he added.
North Sumatra BLH staff member Fauzi Ibsa Tarigan, a seminar participant, said violation of environmental laws by companies in North Sumatra had created severe water and air pollution.
“In an effort to curb pollution, the provincial administration is currently monitoring industries which produce air and water pollution,” said Fauzi.