Yesterday marked one year of the largest ecological disaster that has affected the Peruvian sea, due to the spill of more than 11,000 barrels of oil. Far from making the sanctions against the person responsible effective, the La Pampilla refinery SAA of Repsol has been released from a million-dollar fine in the midst of a conflict of interest, according to documents to which La República had access.
In July 2022, the Environmental Assessment and Enforcement Agency (OEFA) imposed the first fine on Repsol for 1,087 UIT, equivalent to S/5 million 004,491, for failing to identify the areas affected by the spill in the Ventanilla sea.
As expected, the Spanish company appealed the sanction, a request that was left in charge of the Environmental Audit Tribunal (TFA), the decision-making body of the OEFA. In accordance with resolution no. 003-2023-OEFA/TFA-SE, the entity declared the sanction null and void as it had “violated the principle of due process and the duty to provide reasons”.
In addition, it is indicated that it is appropriate to start the sanctioning administrative procedure again. Since the company argued that OEFA failed to submit two supervision reports.
Of the seven disciplinary processes initiated against Repsol, one is pending and six result in fines totaling more than S/70 million; Of these, three have been appealed and two are within the challenge period that expires on Tuesday, January 31. Although today we already know the resolution of the first, which favors Repsol.
OEFA confirms conflict of interest
This medium revealed that the technical secretary of the TFA, Angélica María García Gilio, is the wife of Adolfo Eugenio Huapaya Venegas, Industrial Hygiene and Safety engineer at the La Pampilla refinery, according to the affidavit presented by García in April 2021.
For this reason, OEFA has removed her from the post. “Such decision has been executed immediately, upon learning that he has a marital relationship with a director of the Repsol SA company. In this sense, the necessary investigations have been initiated (…)”, they specified.
Despite the link, García did not refrain from fulfilling his duties, among which are providing the members – who admit or reject the Court’s appeals – specialized technical advice.
“When things like this happen so obscurely, one might think that if there is no complicity, at least there is a very weak hand to sanction Repsol’s conduct to date,” said Juan Carlos Riveros, Oceana’s scientific director.
For his part, the SPDA lawyer, Jean Pierre Araujo, opined that the responsibility or not of the official and the possible conflict of interest could generate administrative and even criminal investigations against her. “At first, it would not have an impact on the resolution of the TFA, although the technical secretary supports the report, there is a collegiate who reviews the entire file and reflects on the proposed legal and technical position,” he specified.
controversial resolution
The OEFA Inspection Court has resolved in favor of Repsol the first of 4 challenges.
OEFA separates an official
Angélica García, technical secretary of the Audit Court, declared that she was the wife of an engineer who works at the La Pampilla refinery.
The data
Damage. The environmental and humanitarian crisis derived from the oil spill affects half a million Peruvians linked to the marine ecosystem, including fishermen, merchants, street vendors and others, according to Oceana Peru.
Source: Larepublica
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