Dominican Republic government steps in as waste dump standoff flares

Santo Domingo.- Environment minister Bautista Rojas on Monday ordered a commission of experts to permanently oversee operations at the landfill the servers the capital, to avert environmental problems seriously affecting the population.

He said the fact that the Duquesa facility is now under litigation over its management, forces the environmental authorities to be on the alert to prevent health disorders.

He said the landfill must be controlled in adherence to environmental laws and regulations in effect. "We have technicians on site and we’ll keep watching the operations at the Duquesa landfill from the environmental point of view and prevent environmental pollution from affecting the people of greater Santo Domingo."

He said the presence of Environment experts at the landfill, as well as surveillance and monitoring, serve to intensify the environmental orientations to the parties in solid waste management conflict, in reference to the lawsuit between the company Lajun Corporation and the municipality of Santo Domingo North.