A milestone in the environmental processing of the Las Salinas site took place today at the COEVA of the Valparaíso Region, with the unanimous approval of the remediation project for the Las Salinas site. This will allow the culmination of the recovery process of the 16 hectare plot located in the northern area of Viña del Mar, which was already subjected to a first stage of remediation, between 2008 and 2013, which included the removal of 47 thousand tons of contaminated soil, 191 tons of liquid waste, 9,368 m of impacted debris and 408 m of pipelines. This process was audited by Universidad Federico Santa María and Fundación Chile. The final cleanup will use the bioremediation technique, through which natural processes are accelerated for the effective and safe degradation of compounds by means of microorganisms present natively in the soil. The project was analyzed by more than 20 technical agencies that make up the Environmental Evaluation System: Regional Government, Valparaíso Region; National Monuments Council; National Indigenous Development Corporation; Undersecretary of Fisheries and Aquaculture; Superintendency of Sanitary Services; National Forestry Corporation, Valparaíso Region; General Water Directorate, Valparaíso Region; Hydraulic Works Directorate, Valparaíso Region; Maritime Governorate of Valparaíso; Superintendencia de Electricidad y Combustible; the regional ministerial secretariats of Bienes Nacionales; Desarrollo Social; Región de Valparaíso; Energía; Minería; Obras Públicas; Salud; Transportes y Telecomunicaciones; Vivienda y Urbanismo; Medio Ambiente; Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería; Servicio Agrícola y Ganadero; Servicio Nacional Turismo; Servicio Nacional de Pesca y Acuicultura; : the I. Municipality of Viña del Mar. The Environmental Impact Study was developed with broad and active citizen participation, which resulted in 567 consultations and observations, each of which were answered during the evaluation process. In addition, informative meetings were held with the communities and the project was made public through different platforms to ensure awareness and the possibility of channeling queries. Las Salinas’ Development Manager, Esteban Undurraga, pointed out that “”. For this purpose, an extensive work of analysis and characterization of the land was carried out for more than 15 years. More than 1,100 soil and water samples were taken, and more than 30,000 analyses were carried out in first class laboratories in Canada, the United States and Chile. This made it possible to know today exactly the situation of the remaining contaminants. In this regard, it is important to mention that, of the million cubic meters of sand in the land, only 4% must undergo the remediation process using the bioremediation technique. “Undurraga added. The project is the result of the work of specialists from Las Salinas and scientists from the region’s main universities: Michael Seeger, bioremediation expert and academic from the Department of Chemistry and senior researcher at the USM Biotechnology Center; Marcel Szantó, expert in solid waste management at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso (PUCV); Luis Álvarez, director of the Institute of Geography at PUCV; Salvador Donghi, expert in strategic environmental diagnostics and projects in conservation at PUCV; and Roberto Orellana, research associate at the USM Biotechnology Center and academic at the Universidad de Playa Ancha.
“,” explained academic Luis Alvarez. Experts explain that this technique is widely used in different parts of the world, such as Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the United States and Canada. In Latin America it is regularly developed in countries such as Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. In the case of Chile, there is also some experience in the matter and it has demonstrated high levels of effectiveness. “The UTFSM expert, Michael Seeger, points out. In addition to the scientific and technical value of this experience of recovery of land with an industrial past, the future urban project to be located in Las Salinas seeks to generate a high social, urban and economic impact, in a country context where sustainable reactivation is becoming increasingly important for citizens. In terms of remediation alone, the investment to be made by the company to carry out the cleanup work will be around US$55 million. Also, according to the report of the Universidad Adolfo Ibañez – “Evaluación de impacto socioeconómico del plan maestro Las Salinas para el Gran Valparaíso” – the gross value of the economic impact that the Las Salinas neighborhood will have, once the project is completed, would reach US$ 2,120 million. In terms of employment, it is estimated that the construction phase of the urban project will generate 1,000 jobs per year, which are expected to increase once the neighborhood is up and running, given the mixed-use nature of the urban project.
