Residents Affected by Oil Spill must Be Compensated, Regent Says

Immediately recover and give them (the affected people) compensation

Thousand Islands Regent, Junaedi, revealed the state energy giant Pertamina’s Offshore North West Java (PHE ONWJ) should be responsible by providing compensation to residents affected by the soil spill.  

Regency Identifies Islands Affected by Oil Waste

According to him, it had an impact on tourism and fisheries businesses, including fish farmers in the keramba (net cages).

"Immediately recover and give them (the affected people) compensation," he expressed, Monday (4/26).

He also wanted them to immediately provide personal protective equipment (PPE) for PJLP officers from the Environmental Sub-agency, PPSU, and residents who help clean the oil.

"This situation is very dangerous. I also want the cleaned oil to be transported," he asserted.

Through a written statement from the Manager for Communications Relations & CID PT PHE ONWJ, Hari Setyono uttered he had coordinated with the Environmental Sub-agency to conduct cleanup action at the location.

"We are still alerting the Oil Spill Combat Team (OSCT) to patrol the surrounding areas to ensure conditions are under control," he explained.

In the field, he also coordinated with locals for quick handling in order to minimize its environmental impact.

"They (Pertamina) have checked the location according to standard handling procedures in maintaining facility reliability," he added.

Thousand Islands Environmental Sub-agency Head Djoko Rianto Budi Hartono added that as many as 60 officers had been on standby to clean up the oil on Untung Jawa and Pari islands, South Thousand Islands Sub-district.

"Quick handling is done to minimize the negative impact of oil spill on marine habitats and ecosystems. We still continue to do handling together with PPSU," he explained.

Thus far, the officers had cleaned up 5,628 kg of oil from the coastal area of Untung Jawa Island and 575 kg from the coastal area of Lancang Island

"Until now there has been no clarification on the party responsible for this oil spill," he stated.