[Kabar-indonesia] 2 JP Mudflow Reports: Editorial: Disasters in Waiting [+No End in Sight]

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

also: JP: No End in Sight to Sidoardjo Mudflow
and JP: Forest fires in Jambi extinguished 

The Jakarta Post
Friday, August 11, 2006

Editorial

Disasters in Waiting 

The following are the tangible impacts of the hot, toxic mud that has flooded 
part of the East Java town of Sidoarjo since the end of May: nearly 8,000 
people have been displaced, more than 190 hectares of farmland have been flooded, 
at least 15 factories have been shut down and a section of the 
Surabaya-Gempol turnpike has been closed.

The multiplier effects of the disaster are even more damaging -- over 1,700 
workers have been laid off, state freeway operator PT Jasa Marga has lost 
billions of rupiah in revenue and Sidoarjo's economy has been crippled because the 
mud has shut down one of East Java's industrial hubs. 

State railway company PT KAI is the latest operation to be affected after mud 
flooded the railway line Thursday, forcing the firm to close the 
Sidoarjo-Pasuruan route indefinitely. Train passengers traveling to the eastern part of 
East Java now have to stop at Sidoarjo station, while those heading west must 
get off at Bangil station near Pasuruan. 

With government scientists confirming that the mud contains dangerous levels 
of toxic substances like benzene, toluene and xylene, and that the air has 
been contaminated with high levels of ammonia and sulfur dioxide, more disasters 
are within sight. 

The quality of the environment in the area has been permanently fouled and it 
is likely to be extremely difficult and costly to rehabilitate. 

If they are not evacuated, nearby residents are likely to face health 
problems for many years ahead because of the contamination. 

But a more devastating catastrophe is lurking at the beginning of the rainy 
season in October. If more levees holding the mud collapse, over 20 million 
cubic meters of the muck could flood even more villages in the regency than the 
four already affected. 

The local authorities have asked residents of the villages to ready 
themselves for an evacuation. 

With a team of international experts at a loss how to stop the hot mudflow, 
it is anyone's guess how long the makeshift defenses can last. 

Environment group Greenomics has estimated the total damage caused by the 
mudflow amounts to a whopping Rp 33 trillion (US$3.6 billion), an amount that 
would certainly bankrupt the company being held responsible for the disaster, PT 
Lapindo Brantas Inc. 

This company, partly owned by the family of Coordinating Minister for the 
People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie, has yet to be prosecuted under any 
environmental laws, although a criminal investigation is underway. 

And strangely, Supreme Court Chief Justice Bagir Manan, thinks further legal 
action is unnecessary. 

Currently, Lapindo is being allowed to set the level of compensation it pays 
to the thousands of affected people. 

But even if Lapindo is prosecuted -- and there certainly seems to be enough 
evidence to do so -- whatever damages the company will have to pay won't be 
enough to offset the losses the local people have had to bear since the disaster 
struck. 

It was a clear signal of the villagers' fear when people in Siring hamlet 
scrambled to help construction workers prevent mud from spilling over the dam, 
which had kept their area safe. Some of the villagers, many of whom are factory 
workers, took a day off work for the effort. 

Given the imminent danger and that scientists have no solutions to stemming 
the continuing mudflow, it looks likely the state will have to follow 
environment group Walhi's advice. They have called for the government to prosecute 
Lapindo and, if necessary, the other companies involved in the natural gas 
drilling that is blamed for causing the disaster. 

More immediately, it is also perhaps worth considering channeling the mud to 
the sea, as an expert on an independent team tasked with handling the mudflow 
has suggested. 

However, his would likely cause an even larger ecological disaster and 
Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar has already expressed his opposition to the 
proposal. 

But as long as the mud continues to gush from the Lapindo well site, 
something must be done -- and done fast. 

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The Jakarta Post
Friday, August 11, 2006

No end in sight to Sidoardjo mudflow 

Indra Harsaputra and Tony Hotland, 
The Jakarta Post, Sidoarjo, Jakarta

Hot mud that has been flowing from a gas well in Sidoarjo, East Java, since 
May 29 breached a dam Thursday morning, forcing thousands of more people 
from their homes. 

Later in the day Vice President Jusuf Kalla led an emergency meeting to 
discuss 
the continuing environmental and human disaster. 

The dam, which was built to contain the mud and keep it from nearby villages, 
was breached for a second time at around 9 a.m. This comes days after the 
local turnpike operator declared the toll road linking East Java towns to the 
provincial capital Surabaya had to be closed for a third time because of the 
mud. The operator said the turnpike would be closed indefinitely. 

Some 20 train departures were canceled and two main roads were blocked as 
residents used all manner of vehicles, including tractors and bulldozers, to flee 
villages in Porong district. 

An estimated 12,000 people have now been forced from their homes by the 
mudflow. The company that drilled the well for its gas operations, Lapindo 
Brantas Inc., continues to publish advertorials in newspapers claiming it is 
doing all it can 
to stem the flow of mud. 

Schools and homes have been inundated up to their roofs. Residents were sent 
into a panic Thursday when, as one villager described, the mudflow "all of a 
sudden rushed toward us". 

Another resident of Siring village, Bambang, said his mobile phone continued 
to 
ring with people asking about the safety of family and neighbors. 

"I ran as fast as I could to save my wife and child. Everyone was in a panic, 
as if there was a tsunami. In minutes my home was under mud, as were my 
neighbors' homes," he told The Jakarta Post. 

"We don't want to live here anymore. We ask Lapindo to buy our land and 
homes," Bambang said. 

Having earlier ordered the evacuation of more than 8,000 residents, Kalla on 
Thursday ordered the relocation of all remaining residents in the area, said 
Sidoarjo Regent Win Hendrarso after the meeting in Jakarta. 

State Minister for the Environment Rachmat Witoelar earlier said the 
government planned to build a larger dam to contain the mud. He also expressed caution 
over 
a proposal by Lapindo to channel the mud into the sea. 

"We wouldn't be able to control the flow," he said. 

The new dam, to be located near the existing embankment, is planned as 
a temporary measure while more permanent ways of dealing with the mud 
spewing from the well are explored, he said. 

"The mud will eventually be processed so it is less hazardous to people. 
This is the only plan we currently have," Rachmat said. 

A report by the State Ministry for the Environment says many of the elements 
contained in the mud are highly toxic and hazardous. 

However, Rachmat said the mud was safe enough to be used in making roof 
tiles, for example. Some residents have already started making bricks from 
the mud. 

An executive and a number of employees of Lapindo have been detained by 
police on charges of violating environmental laws. The firm is partly owned 
by 
the family of Coordinating Minister for the People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie. 

To date, the mud has covered some 210 hectares of land in Sidoarjo. 

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The Jakarta Post
Friday, August 11, 2006

Forest fires in Jambi extinguished 

JAMBI, Jambi: The Jambi forestry office is fighting hundreds of illegally set 
fires in the province and has reduced haze-causing hot spots by more than 
half, an official says.

Forest control center secretary Frans Tandipau said 248 fires had previously 
affected six out of the 10 regions in Jambi. 

However, due to the aggressive efforts of the office, now only 105 fires are 
blazing in four regencies, he said. 

"Our officers are still busy extinguishing the fires." 

Frans said so far this dry season firefighters had been deployed 14 times in 
the province. 

Forest fires in the province were most often set by residents to clear land 
for agriculture or palm oil plantations, he said. 

"If the fires are left unattended, they will likely burn conservation areas 
and plantations," he said. -- JP 

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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