With respect to Judgment T-154 issued in 2013 by the Honorable Constitutional Court, and in particular regarding the incidental contempt proceedings for that judgment filed by the Comptroller General of the Republic against the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development, the National Environmental Licensing Agency (ANLA) and Drummond Ltd., the Superior Court of the Judicial District of Valledupar has reported on July 8, 2014 that it decided to refrain from initiating those incidental contempt proceedings.
According to the Superior Court, both the Ministry and the ANLA, as well as Drummond Ltd., have complied with the judgment’s requirements regarding the mitigation of the impacts that Drummond’s mining operations could have on the environment and on the community located in the area of influence of the company’s operations.
Additionally, the Court’s decision indicated that “Drummond Ltd. has been using state-of-the-art machinery to counteract noise and dispersion,” and that the company has adopted control measures that “are within internationally adopted best practices for preventing and/or minimizing particulate emissions in coal mining.”
The above statements are based on “scientific grounds, specifically on measurements taken on an ongoing basis by the special air quality monitoring system in the coal region of Cesar.”
The judgment concludes that, considering the favorable opinion of the ANLA and the fact that the Comptroller General recognizes the progress made in complying with the guardianship judgment (which it was unaware of when it filed the incidental contempt proceedings), it would be “illogical to continue wearing out the judicial system,” since compliance with the requirements has been shown.
Drummond Ltd. would like to reiterate to its neighboring communities, its employees and the country in general, its commitment to and respect for the environment, through its ongoing search for the highest environmental management standards in its operations.