A lawyer filed a complaint yesterday with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment against the operators of an allegedly illegal landfill site in Nong E-roon sub-district in Chon Buri.
Lawyer Witoon Keng-ngarn, who claims to represent the villagers of Nong E-roon, said that they have been complaining about the foul smell and polluted water discharged from the landfill, which has been operating for about five years with impunity, into a canal that flows into the Bang Pakong River.
He claims that the villagers are afraid to file a complaint themselves out of concern over retaliation, because a director of the company is closely linked to an influential politician in Chon Buri.
The lawyer said that he has discovered that the land on which the illegal landfill is located does not belong to the company and its title deed has already been revoked by the Supreme Administrative Court.
He said he suspects, therefore, that the company does not have a license to operate the landfill, adding that he wonders why local authorities have not taken any action at all against the company for the past five years.
There are no waste treatment facilities on the landfill, except for a small facility recycling plastic bags, said Witoon.
In response to the complaint, Chiraphong Kuhakarn, assistant permanent secretary at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, said that officials from the Pollution Control Department have already been sent to the landfill to investigate.
He said that they discovered that waste water has been leaking into the canal from the landfill, but chemical waste found there is not a threat to health.
