Government investigates environmental crimes in the Serras Gerais after the emergence of a crater and complaints about the disposal of pesticide packaging and tires | Tocantins

The Government of Tocantins will investigate reports of environmental crimes in the Serras Gerais region, a southeastern section of Tocantins, on the border with the state of Bahia. According to the government, the complaints are about craters formed in the region and irregular disposal of pesticide packaging and tires.

This Saturday (4), the Secretariat of Environment and Water Resources (Semarh) paid a visit to the city of Lavandeira and flew over the areas at the head of the River Palma between the municipalities of Aurora do Tocantins and Riacho Bartolomeu, a tributary of the River basin Palma in the Mosquito region, to check the situation.

The state also ordered immediate action to be taken to assess the extent of environmental damage and seek a quick solution to the problem, including identifying and punishing those responsible.

The secretary of Semarh, Marcello Lelis, said that a report on the situation in the Serras Gerais will be prepared by the Tocantins Nature Institute (Naturatins) and delivered to the Minister of the Environment, Marina Silva, on November 14th.

“We really identified the proximity of the farm where there was major erosion, and the existence of discarded pesticide packaging and tires. Our mission now is to wait for the report that Naturatins will prepare with the coordinates and technical information. On the 14th November, in Brasília-DF, we will hand deliver this report to the president of Ibama and also to the Minister of the Environment, Marina Silva. So that they can mediate this relationship between the two states, Bahia and Tocantins, as the problem affects both”.

One of the main concerns is the contamination of the water used by the riverside community that lives close to the affected area.

“There are families in the region, close to the main erosion, and our concern is the quality of the water, as pesticides run into the springs. But I am sure that governor Wanderlei Barbosa, secretary Marcello Lelis, together with the president of Naturatins who started the inspection process will find an immediate solution to reverse this situation that directly affects the population of Lavandeira and neighboring municipalities”, said the president of the NGO Voz Ambiental, Bernardino Rodrigues, one of those responsible for reporting environmental crimes.

The president of Naturatins, Renato Jayme, reported that in the region, the determination set out in the forestry code, which establishes a distance of 100 meters to permanent preservation areas on edges, plateaus and plateaus, was not complied with.

“In this case, our teams found that this distance was not respected. The complete inspection report will be presented to the national authorities so that measures such as the removal of pesticide packaging, tires and the restoration of the degraded area can be taken. In addition to exemplary punishment of the culprits.”

According to the Government of Tocantins, environmental agencies in Bahia and the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) have already been contacted.