Bekasi Regency Government: Only 13 Companies Have Permits For Disposal Of Waste Into Rivers

Acting Bekasi Regent Dani Ramdan chaired a coordination meeting for handling river pollution in the Bekasi Regent Meeting Room (Photo: Pradita Kurniawan Syah/Antara)

JAKARTA - The Bekasi Regency Government, West Java, is committed to controlling river polluting companies by taking an inventory of the legal aspects of companies that dispose of industrial waste into rivers based on their permits.

Bekasi Regent, Dani Ramdan, said that based on a follow-up coordination meeting regarding the pollution of the Cilemahabang River, it was found that most of the companies that dumped waste into rivers in Bekasi Regency did not have permits.

"Only 13 companies have permits, based on the results of our investigation. The majority do not have permits. Then those who have permits do not necessarily dispose of them with quality standards. So this must be sorted out", said Dani in Cikarang, Bekasi Regency, as reported by Antara, Friday, October 1st.

The Bekasi Regency Government decided to take strategic steps to solve the problem of waste pollution which has great potential to damage natural sustainability, especially ecosystems along the river.

One of them is through laboratory examination which aims to determine whether or not there is a violation of waste pollution in the river. If a violation is found, the company can be given a warning up to three times, which can result in a criminal offense and the revocation of a business license.

"For companies that are licensed, the punishment is remedial, so level by level. But those who are not licensed, khan are more numerous, according to a representative from the prosecutor's office, he said they could be immediately punished, the legal term is premium. This is what we will try", he said.

Dani said that water samples from the polluted river had been carried out and were now being tested in the laboratory. "The results are said to be on October 8th. We will see what the results will be", he said.

He also stated that the companies polluting the environment that do not have permits are dominated by small companies with operational activities in the field of waste processing, only the rest of the waste is disposed of directly into rivers without processing and permits.

In this small business, he said, the waste dumped into the river is not as much as big companies, but the number of entrepreneurs is large so that they also play a role in polluting the environment.

The local government first looks for companies that pollute the environment the most, both in terms of pollution levels and pollution intensity. This enforcement method is applied pending the results of laboratory tests for large industries.

"Because there were findings of unlicensed waste disposal, that was what we worked on first. I ask for understanding to provide education to the public if, for example, we are working on an unlicensed one while waiting for the laboratory results. So don't misunderstand, how come the small ones are punished, but the big ones are not", he said.

Dani revealed that companies that do not have a permit to dispose of include processing used drums which are washed and then disposed of the oil into rivers, domestic waste, and oil processing.

Overall, the pollution of the Cilemahabang River comes from six segments, including Cikadu, Serangbaru to Kalimalang. In all these segments, some industries are suspected to have contributed to polluting the environment.

"So there is a connection so that from the laboratory results the results will be known. There are companies that are not licensed to dispose of waste and there are also companies that have permits which also do not necessarily mean that the waste is disposed of according to the quality standards. This is followed up", he said.

"Criminal sanctions in accordance with the provisions of Law Number 32 of 2009 regarding environmental protection and management will be given to companies that are proven to have violated the provisions in question. I have coordinated with law enforcement officials", said Dani.