Brazil Judge Dismisses $5.7 Billion Suit Against Mine Disaster

Brazilian mining corporation Vale SA said that the $US5.7 billion civil lawsuit for damages from last year’s Samarco mine disaster, which has been called Brazil’s biggest ecological disaster, has been dismissed on Monday.

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The mine, operated by Samarco Mineracao SA, was a joint venture between Vale SA and BHP Billiton. Vale claimed that the judge did not rule on the merits of the case. The civil lawsuit was filed by the National Humanitarian Society, known as Sohumana, before a federal judge in Rio de Janeiro in December.

The Bento Rodrigues Dam, in the state of Minas Gerais, collapsed in November. It killed at least 13 people, destroyed villages, polluted a major river valley that hundreds of thousands of people rely on for drinking water, and devastated tourism and fishing.

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Brazil's federal and state governments also threatened to sue Samarco and its owners for the disaster. A settlement was reached in March whereby Samarco, BHP and Vale will pay US$6.2 billion to the government for damages over 15 years. Vale, however, has outlined it expects to pay less than that due to the way the deal is structured, calculating future payments depending on how much work remains to be done.

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The settlement was approved by a Brazilian judge in May, which potentially reduced the threat of a separate US$44 billion lawsuit filed by federal prosecutors in the states of Minas Gerais, where the mine is located, and neighboring Espírito Santo, who based their claim on the clean-up costs of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

Brazilian Federal Police earlier in June accused Samarco of a number of misconducts, including cutting spending on safety in favor of production despite obvious indications that the dam was in danger of collapsing. Brazilian civil engineers ruled the damn as unsafe in 2013.

Samarco was also accused of dumping mining waste in the dam. The United Nations in November said that the disaster released 60 million cubic meters of mine waste—equivalent to 20,000 Olympic swimming pools.

The dismissal of the case adds to recent disappointing news for environmental justice in Brazil. Brazil's Senate-imposed President Michel Temer is expected to unravel progressive environmental protection laws.