Lago Agrio, Ecuador – Dr. Efrain Novillo, President of the Ninth Circuit Supreme Court in Nueva Loja (Lago Agrio) has announced that the judicial inspections in the trial brought against ChevronTexaco by Amazon communities will begin on August 18 and 19. The multinational corporation is facing charges for the environmental damage caused by the company’s oil operations in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
According to Dr. Novillo, “The inspections will take place on August 18 and 19 in the Sacha Camp, pit # 6 and 21, respectively, beginning at 9am depending on the availability of the experts that will proceed over all inspections.”
The news revived optimism among the affected peoples that have been awaiting the judicial inspections for months. “The judicial inspections will be an opportunity to demonstrate that Texaco contaminated the environment and that this damage persists and continues to affect the people,” said Luis Yanza, Coordinador of the Legal Process for the Amazon Defense Front (Frente de Defensa de la Amazonia). “By observing the damages, our technicians and experts will demonstrate the magnitude of the environmental damages caused by Texaco as the greatest environmental disaster in the world caused by the oil industry,” emphasized Mr. Yanza.
Dr. Alberto Wray, Ecuadorian lawyer representing the plaintiffs, said that the process in the Ninth Circuit Supreme Court was not paralyzed. “Proceedings, commissions, and exhortations have been carried out during the test period outside of the country, principally in the United States. Declarations of witnesses and other proceedings have taken place.” In addition, he stressed that everything is set for the judicial inspections to begin “to demonstrate the actions that the affected people have stated in the lawsuit”.
Steven Donziger, U.S. based lawyer and member of the legal team that represents the affected peoples, said “Whatever judgement the Ninth Circuit Court decides will be enforced by the U.S. Court. Therefore, this case is historic since a similar case has never been tried anywhere in the world.”
The remediation technicians led by David Russell (Global Environmental Operations) estimate that the remediation for the environmental damages caused by the oil operations of Texaco are estimated at $6 billion.
Gribaldo Cueva
Secretary of Communication and Management of FDA
*Translated by Amazon Watch
