Send an email to the Government of Chile and Celco Executives
La Carta En Español

To the Government of Chile and Celco Executives,

I am writing to urge you, as representatives of the pulp industry and the Government of Chile, to consider alternative strategies in regard to the control of water and air pollution created by the pulp manufacturing process. The pulp mill currently under construction in Nueva Aldea will have numerous harmful impacts on the environment unless immediate steps are taken to improve the standards for the entire industry in Chile. The current plan to build a duct to the ocean is not an acceptable solution. This costly project will only worsen the damage to the marine environment, and the money spent on its construction could be used to achieve results that would be far more beneficial to the future economic stability of Chile and its industries.

The economic impact caused by pollution from pulp manufacturing is enormous, and has detrimental effects on many of Chile's other important industries. The mill in Nueva Aldea will cause wide-reaching damage to industries such as tourism, farming, wine-growing, ranching, and fishing, and will also have an indeterminable negative effect on public health. The cost to the economy of Chile will most likely be far greater than the profits, new jobs, and tax revenue generated by the new mill.

The environmental disaster caused by Celco's mill in Valdivia in 2005 is an example that the current system of monitoring and enforcement of pulp mill pollution is not sufficient to prevent more accidents from occurring. A new system of regular monitoring of mill effluent, by an agency that is not under control by the industry itself, is essential to ensure compliance to environmental standards. Monitoring should occur on a daily if not hourly basis, and mills should have no control over or knowledge of the timing of the monitoring process. Furthermore, mills must be penalized heavily for not complying to these standards, so that there is a financial incentive for self-enforcement. Lastly, the Government should encourage the industry to upgrade its facilities, and to employ the best available technologies in both the manufacturing and treatment processes, by providing grant money and financial rewards for operating cleanly.

Chile has a unique opportunity in this regard to set an example for the rest of South America to follow. In order to guarantee the health of your citizens and industries in the future, we urge you to take immediate action to implement a plan that will protect the environment from further harm, and thus improve the quality of life for your citizens and enhance future economic success for the country of Chile.

Signed,

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