Ramboll Engaged by Brazil’s Federal Public Ministry to Oversee Remediation of the Rio Doce Basin
BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil – At an official signing ceremony on March 8th, leading engineering, design and consultancy company Ramboll entered into a long-term agreement with the Federal Public Ministry of Brazil (MPF) in connection with the country’s November 2015 socio-environmental disaster.
Ramboll will evaluate and monitor the work of the Renova Foundation to remediate the damage caused by the dam rupture at the Samarco iron ore mine in Mariana, Minas Gerais. The disaster killed 18 people and resulted in environmental, social and economic damage to the Rio Doce Basin. Losses extended across the states of Minas Gerais and EspÃrito Santo.
MPF has engaged Ramboll to ensure that the 41 approved remedation programs (18 socio-environmental and 23 socio-economic) are implemented as proposed by the Renova Foundation and that promised social, economic and environmental outcomes are realized. The Ministry will also rely on the firm’s broad and deep experience to evaluate the approved programs and propose any additional remediation, restoration or reconstruction activity it deems necessary to fully restore the Rio Doce Basin within the shortest time frame possible.
Ramboll has dedicated more than 30 professionals to the project. In addition to seven international experts in major disaster remediation, the team reflects expertise and experience in ecology, geology, biology, environmental and civil engineering, risk management, ecological services and socio-environmental assessment.
“Because we have all the relevant disciplines in-house, we are uniquely positioned to conduct a detailed and critical analysis of the proposed actions to determine not only whether the promised results can be achieved, but also whether they will meet the expectations of regulators, affected communities and the Brazilian people,” explains Eugenio Singer, Managing Director Ramboll’s Environment & Health practice in Brazil. Singer emphasizes the importance of this type of monitoring to ensure that remedial actions are appropriate and are implemented correctly.
MPF will be supported by the State Public Ministries of Minas Gerais and EspÃrito Santo in coordinating roles. Lactec Institutes has been engaged to assess the severity of environmental damage, and MPF plans to contract another firm to assess socioeconomic impacts on affected municipalities.
About Ramboll
Ramboll is a leading engineering, design and consultancy company founded in Denmark in 1945. With almost 300 offices in 35 countries, the company employs 13,000 globally and has especially strong representation in the Nordics, UK, North America, Continental Europe, Middle East and Asia-Pacific. Ramboll works across the markets: Buildings, Transport, Planning & Urban Design, Water, Environment & Health, Energy, Oil & Gas and Management Consulting.
www.ramboll.comÂ
