In a victory for environmental violators, the governor of Rondônia, Bolsonarista Coronel Marcos Rocha (PSL), sanctioned a law that prohibits state agents from destroying equipment during environmental inspections.
The measure, approved in December by the Legislative Assembly, contradicts the opinion of Sedam (State Secretariat for Environmental Development) and the PGE (State Attorney General’s Office).
“It is prohibited (sic) for environmental inspection bodies and the Military Police of the State of Rondônia to destroy and disable private goods seized in environmental operations/inspections in the state”, says Law 5,299, signed on Wednesday (12).
The project is authored by the president of the Legislative Assembly, Alex Redano (Republicans). When justifying it, the congressman said that it was a demand from miners. He states that if the owner of the destroyed equipment is later exonerated, he cannot recover the damage.
In an opinion, Sedam recommended a total veto. In the evaluation of the folder, the measure “is necessary to avoid its misuse and use in situations where transport and storage are unfeasible” and when “they could expose the environment to significant risks or compromise the safety of the population and agents publics involved in the inspection”.
Also contrary to the law, the PGE states, in its opinion, that the measure is “materially unconstitutional, since it results in a serious violation of the principle of prohibition of environmental regression”.
The PGE also says that, if the owner of the destroyed equipment manages to prove his innocence, the legislation in force provides for his compensation.
In practice, there are rare cases of owners taking legal action against the destruction. This is because the goods are usually unusable within protected areas, where the mere presence of such equipment is prohibited.
Environmental inspectors claim that the destruction of goods is a last resort and only occurs when it is impossible to transport this equipment due to logistical difficulties in the Amazon.
Despite publicly criticizing the destruction of assets in environmental operations, President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) never carried out his threat to veto this practice. In late November, the Federal Police destroyed dozens of illegal garimpeiro ferries on the Madeira River.
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