In Argentina, Executive Decrees No. 674/89 and 776/92 establish a regime governing industrial and/or special facilities that discharge pollution to water. [Industrial facilities are those establishments that manufacture goods (transforming raw materials into new products); while “special” facilities are those that clean or process goods (but do not transform raw materials).] These discharges may be continuous or periodic, and they may be to drains, conduits, or watercourses. This regime grants police powers to the Secretariat of Environment and Sustainable Development (SAyDS), which is an organ of the Ministry of Health and Environment, authorizing the Secretariat to control industrial water pollution and the quality of natural, surface, and ground waters.
In the exercise of its police powers, the SAyDS can take the necessary measures necessary to prevent the direct or indirect pollution of drinking water sources. The SAyDS is authorized to close the industrial or special facilities as necessary. It can also impose fines of 30,000 and 100,000 Pesos (approx. US$10,000-33,000) on owners, suppliers, users, and natural or legal persons who violate the current or future obligations. In practice, the enterprises that are usually sanctioned for violations are laundries, automobile service stations, cold-storage facilities, and tanneries, among others.
Under these Decrees, industrial facilities are required to present to the SAyDS an affidavit (sworn declaration) once a year. This affidavit must indicate the type of effluent that was released, its volume, and the treatment (if any) of the effluent. Also, in order to initiate activities or to expand existing activities, facilities must obtain a conditional authorization for their spills and bring their effluents into compliance with the permissible limits. If a facility fails to present an affidavit, there are omissions in the affidavit, or the content of the affidavit is falsified, the SAyDS may impose a fine, and SAyDS can also initiate a criminal prosecution for falsification.
For more information on the applicable law and its control mechanisms, see http://www.medioambiente.gov.ar/?idarticulo=127. For more information on the affidavits, see http://www.medioambiente.gov.ar/
?aplicacion=tramites&IdTramite=2&IdSeccion=18
For more information generally, contact Ms. Melina Garcia Luciani mluciani@medioambiente.gov.ar or Ms. Silvana Terzi sterzi@medioambiente.gov.ar