San José - Caldera Highway Hits An
Environmental Roadblock
The completion of the construction of
section of the San José - Caldera highway is
in jeopardy as the Environmental Tribunal
put a halt to all construction on the final
section (Santa Ana - Orotina) of the
highway, ordering the Autopistas del Sol to
stop all construction, because of apparent
environmental damages.
The Tribunal, which is the administrative
court of the Ministerio de Ambiente, Energía
y Telecomunicaciones (MINAET), ruled on
Thursday that the road construction has
affected negatively the Barva aquifer, the
underground layer of water-bearing permeable
rock or unconsolidated materials (gravel,
sand, silt, or clay) from which groundwater
can be usefully extracted using a water
well.
The Tribunal also said that the road
construction affected the Tárcoles, Ciruelas
ad Caño Grande rivers and least 20 streams
and rivers between Piedades de Santa Ana and
Orotina.
The Tribunal ordered a detailed study from
the MINAET's Servicio Nacional de Aguas
Subterráneas, Riego y Avenamiento (SENARA).
Experts are also calling on reports from the
Consejo Nacional de Vialidad (Conavi) and
the Secretaría Técnica Nacional Ambiental (Setena).
The Tribunal's decision halted all work on
completion of the highway.
The road concessionaire, Autopistas del Sol,
asked the Tribunal to allow it to continue
working, promising to be respectful of any
final decision
The concessionaire is adamant that the
Tribunal t is "mistaken", that it is taking
into account erroneous assumptions and that
the construction of the highway has been
strictly following environmental guidelines
set out by the MINAET.
The viceministro de Concesiones, Guillermo
Matamoros, defended Autopistas del Sol,
saying yesterday that it was Setena that
approved the Plan de Gestión Ambiental and
is the body with the responsibility of
supervising the work so as not to negatively
impact the environment.
Matamoros said he will be asking the Setena
to render an account of what has happened,
alluding to the lack of proper supervision.
The Tribunal wants Autopistas del Sol to
repair the damage caused by the road
construction and put in place measures to
avoid any further damages from occurring.
The situation came to a head when the week
before last a series of land slides near the
Balsa de Atenas had residents fearing for
their lives. The residents complained to
authorities that there could be deaths if a
serious landslide were to occur in the area.
It is not yet known how the temporary work
stoppage will affect the completion date of
the toll highway that connects San José and
the port town of Caldera, with a travel time
of about 40 minutes, more than half the time
it now takes to travel on the
Interamericana. |
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