PODER

Members of the Sonora River Basin Committees attend a meeting with Mexican Secretary of Environment Victor Toledo in Ures, Sonora on Dec. 18, 2019.

Last week, communities in the Rio Sonora valley reiterated their demands for government action to address continued contamination caused by a mining spill in 2014. Now, Mexico’s Health Secretary says leaders are preparing a comprehensive strategy to address the issue.

It’s been more than six years since Grupo Mexico’s Buenavista copper mine spilled toxic waste into Sonoran waterways. But Health Secretary Hugo López-Gatell said the previous administration’s investigation into health and environmental damage was a farce.

"And we are revisiting this topic," he said during a press conference Wednesday. "We have revisited this topic of water basins in general. It’s a subject that we have identified geographic areas we've designated environmental hells, these locations that have been severely impacted by all kinds of contamination."

López-Gatell promised both health and environmental agencies would take a comprehensive approach to addressing harms caused by mining spills and other industrial pollution.

But he admitted that ongoing contamination in the Rio Sonora valley still hasn’t been resolved nearly two years into the current administration, saying the pandemic had stalled efforts the government's efforts.

"The problem continues as a pending assignment, of course. COVID-19 has prevented us from moving forward with this subject this year," he said.