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Sardinal-Coco water line suffers another setback
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Sala IV constitutional court has ruled against the Sardinal-Playas del Coco water pipeline. The court, in a decision released Thursday, said that construction of a pipeline violated the constitutional rights of the residents of Sardinal because there was no certainty that sufficient water would remain for local needs. The court also said the residents had a constitutional right to participate in decisions involving the pipeline.
Developers along the Pacific coast, including Grupo Mapache, have put $8 million in trust so that the Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados can construct the pipeline, which will carry 167 liters of water per second or 44 gallons per second. The water is vital for continued development along the coast, and some condos are standing empty because they lack water.
In the decision, the court emphasized, perhaps incorrectly, that the water project was a private one. It said had the project been public the Contraloría de la República would have reviewed it. The Contraloría is the financial watchdog.
In fact, the Contraloría studied and released a critical report in November. It said that it has discovered serious faults and omissions in the legal process.
| The Contraloría ordered Acueductos y Alcantarillados to begin steps to void the estimated 4,127 permits for water service issued in the area on the strength of the proposed water line.
The Contraloría also ordered the Secretaria Tecnica National Ambiental, the environmental watchdog for the Ministerio de Ambiente, Energía y Telecomunicaciones, to begin administrative hearings for those employees who approved the water line without completing all the legal steps.
The Sala IV court also said in its decision that the government agencies involved did not hold public hearings in Sardinal about the pipeline.
At the time the Sala IV case was filed by the Asociación Confraternidad Guanacasteca, that was true, but the Ministerio de Ambiente, Energía y Telecomunicaciones did hold a hearing later.
The pipeline has become a target for anti-U.S. and anti-development sentiment. Gangs damaged the pipeline in a protest on May 12. Some in the community support the pipeline because of the promise of more jobs along the coast.
This most recent court decision certainly means that more environmental studies will be ordered in an effort to salvage the project, which is about 75 percent completed. |
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