MP files environmental contamination lawsuit against Gerdau – 04/07/2023 – Panel SA

The 7th Civil Court of Sorocaba (SP) accepted a public civil action filed by the MPSP (Public Ministry of São Paulo) against the Gerdau Group due to the environmental sanitation of a region close to the Sorocaba River. The agency claims that the area was contaminated after the deactivation of an industrial plant of the company.

According to the complaint by prosecutor Jorge Marum, Gerdau did not notify public bodies that there was a clandestine deposit of toxic waste at the site. An inspection by Cetesb (Environmental Company of the State of São Paulo) pointed to soil and groundwater contamination by metals, petroleum hydrocarbons and fluoride.

The anonymous complaint that led to the investigations was made in 2014 by a former employee. The promoter claims that Gerdau only took on the environmental liability after Cetesb demanded it and that in recent years it has delayed the space recovery schedule. The Public Prosecutor’s Office proposed a conduct adjustment term in February this year, but the steelmaker did not sign it.

The MP asks Gerdau to complete the decommissioning and rehabilitation plan for the area within six months, under penalty of a daily fine of R$ 10,000 for delay, in addition to the payment of R$ 1 million in compensation for intermediate environmental damages and R$ 1 million for collective moral damages.

In a note, Gerdau said that it is complying with environmental legislation and that it is following Cetesb’s determinations.

“The company claims that the area close to the Sorocaba River, in Sorocaba (SP), is already in the process of recovery, in accordance with legal requirements, as well as being in the intervention phase, with monitoring taking place in parallel, following premises from Cetesb. The company remains open to dialogue with all interested parties,” he said.

Joana Cunha with Paulo Ricardo Martins It is Diego Felix

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