en.Wedoany.com Reported - Chile's Second Environmental Court held hearings on three appeals seeking to revoke the favorable Environmental Qualification Resolution (RCA) for the "Operational Continuity of the Pullalli Plant" project developed by mining company Minera Cemin-Pullalli SpA in the municipality of La Ligua, Valparaíso Region.

The court was composed of Acting President Judge Marcela Godoy, Judge Cristián López, and Judge Matías de la Noi from the Santiago Court of Appeals. Defense statements were presented by attorney Rodrigo Avendaño representing the appellant (Case R-544-2025), Miguel Echeverría representing the Environmental Assessment Service (SEA), and Javier Vergara, attorney for Minera Cemin Pullalli SpA, acting as an independent third party.

These appeals were filed by the Municipality of La Ligua and a group of residents from that city and Papudo, challenging two resolutions by the environmental authority that rejected administrative appeals against the favorable RCA for the mining project. The first appeal (Case R-475-2024) was filed by an individual against the SEA, arguing that the evaluation process did not adequately consider their citizen input regarding potential adverse impacts on local water resources (availability and quality) and the lack of information excluding environmental impacts on air quality, among other issues.

The second appeal (Case R-537-2025) was filed by the Municipality of La Ligua against the Valparaíso Environmental Assessment Committee (Coeva Valparaíso) for rejecting its request to revoke the project's RCA. This appeal claims the project should have been evaluated through an Environmental Impact Study due to: risks to human health from the quantity and quality of liquid waste (or industrial wastewater) discharged into underground aquifers during the beneficiation process; significant adverse effects on water quantity and quality in a highly water-sensitive area; alteration of the lifestyle and customs of human groups; and the project's proximity to residential areas and the "Pullalli Salt Marsh - Longotoma Dunes" natural sanctuary, among other reasons. The appeal also claims the project is incompatible with the municipal development plan. Four residents from La Ligua and Papudo (Case R-544-2025) also filed a lawsuit against Coeva de Valparaíso, adding that the project is located in an area where urban development is restricted or prohibited under the Valparaíso Intercommunal Regulatory Plan.

The SEA requested the court dismiss all legal actions, stating it had correctly ruled out significant impacts on water resources. The SEA noted that the approved project reduces water extraction by planning a maximum flow rate of 2.52 liters per second. During the environmental assessment, the SEA stated it considered water extraction reports related to the plant, as well as potential water extraction occurring before the project's implementation, to determine initial conditions, assuming a worst-case scenario. Modeling of flows and potential impacts on the water component considered the most conservative scenario of a maximum extraction flow of 2.52 L/s from 2023 to 2027 (the project's lifespan). The SEA also claimed it had correctly ruled out risks to population health from the quantity and quality of atmospheric emissions, determining the air quality impact zone based on pollutant dispersion model results for the construction phase and using meteorological data from the Placilla monitoring station located 6.7 km from the project (whose representativeness objections were addressed according to the Environmental Impact Assessment System (SEIA) Air Quality Modeling Guide (2012)). The SEA considered the project compatible with the La Ligua Municipal Development Plan as it does not cause any direct intervention on existing protected environmental components. The SEA further explained that the project is not directly related to the "Protection and Sustainable Use of Natural Heritage" development strategy, particularly the portion located in the Las Tablas Ravine. Regarding the coastal relict forest in the Las Tablas Ravine, it does not cause any direct intervention on existing protected environmental components, and its inclusion in the impact zones for flora and vegetation, fauna, hydrology and hydrogeology, and air quality was unnecessary.

Regarding the residents' appeal, the SEA argued they lack legal standing to file a judicial action within the statutory period. The SEA explained that all background information and opinions obtained during the environmental assessment indicate the project cannot significantly impact the "Pullalli Salt Marsh - Longotoma Dunes" natural sanctuary or the protected olive grove in the "Las Tablas Ravine," whether due to project emissions or impacts on the quantity or quality of water resources interacting with these protected areas. Finally, the SEA claimed the project is territorially compatible because mining law prevails over the Valparaíso Intercommunal Regulatory Plan.

The project aims to ensure the operational continuity of the "Pullalli Plant" (a gold mineral processing plant) by changing the current process (agitation leaching) to heap leaching, and adding an agglomeration area, primary and secondary leaching areas, cationic exchange columns (CIC), and an elution plant, extending its useful life by 5 years. On April 6, 2021, Compañía Minera Cemin-Pullalli submitted an Environmental Impact Declaration for the project to the Environmental Impact Assessment System; on April 25, 2023, the project received a favorable Environmental Qualification Assessment (RCA N°20230500167). On May 31, 2024, the SEA Executive Directorate rejected appeals against the project's RCA (Res. Ex. N°202499101446). On July 22, 2024, a citizen observer filed an appeal with the Second Environmental Court against the SEA's decision, which was admitted under Case R-475-2024. On May 6, 2025, the Valparaíso Regional Environmental Assessment Committee rejected the request to revoke the RCA (Res. Ex. N°2/2025). On June 5, 2025, the Municipality of La Ligua filed an appeal with the Second Environmental Court against the decision of Coeva de Valparaíso, which was admitted under Case R-537-2025. On June 18, 2025, four residents from the municipalities of La Ligua and Papudo filed an appeal with the Environmental Court against the resolution rejecting the request to revoke the RCA, which was admitted under Case R-544-2025.

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