An audit by the Contraloría Regional de Los Lagos revealed that sewage from the Palena commune was discharged untreated into the La Culebra estuary, a tributary of the Palena River. The agency will initiate administrative inquiries against the municipality and the Seremi de Salud.
The Contraloría General de la República detected that residual waters from the communal sewer system were diverted through a hydraulic bypass system, without undergoing the treatment process required by sanitary regulations. The finding occurred during the inspection of the Palena wastewater treatment plant, in the Los Lagos Region.
Due to the seriousness of the facts and their possible impact on the environment and public health, the Contraloría will instruct inquiries at the Municipality of Palena and the Seremi de Salud de Los Lagos. It will also send the records to the Ministerio Público to determine if there was an attack against the environment.
The audit also concluded that the municipality did not comply with the provisions of the Seremi de Salud, including monitoring emission parameters. It paid for supervision services without supporting documentation for 8,353,800 pesos and did not collect a fine of 81,267,096 pesos for failure to renew a guarantee bond.
The Municipality of Palena has a period of 30 business days to prove the measures adopted to prevent new discharges and comply with sanitary requirements.
