Supreme Court ratifies BRL 170B reparation deal for tragedy in Mariana
Brazil’ Supreme Court on Wednesday (Nov. 6) ratified the agreement to repair the damage caused by the collapse of the Fundão dam in Mariana, Minas Gerais, in 2015.
The agreement was inked by chief Justice Luís Roberto Barroso and approved by the full bench of the court.
The accord was signed last month by the Brazilian government and establishes BRL 170 billion for work to repair and compensate for the environmental disaster. At the time of the accident, the dam was managed by Samarco, a company controlled by mining companies Vale (Brazilian) and BHP Billiton (Anglo-Australian).
Of the total funds, BRL 100 million will be passed on to the federal government, the states of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo, as well as the municipalities affected by the tailings. The money will be used for environmental and income transfer programs.
Another BRL 32 billion will be used to recover degraded areas, resettle communities, and pay compensation to affected families.
The federal court authorities in Minas Gerais will monitor the mining companies’ efforts to comply with the agreement.
