CCALCP helped stop Toronto-based Brookfield Asset hydroelectric project in Colombia

The Luis Carlos Perez Lawyers’ Collective (CCALCP), an organization of eight women lawyers based in Bucaramanga and Cúcuta in northern Colombia, works on crucial public interest issues, notably the defence of territory.

In 2016, CCALCP filed a challenge against Isagen’s Piedra del Sol hydroelectric project.

The October 2017 report Defending the Land and Environment Where Extractive Companies are Engaged notes, “[Brookfield Asset Management] has been present in Colombia since 2011 [and] consolidated its activity in 2016 when it became the majority owner (57.6%) of the company Isagen through the largest privatization in the history of Colombia.”

The report also notes: “Isagen operates at least 14 projects in Colombia: seven power generation plants, six hydroelectric plants and one thermal energy plant in five departments around the country. It is also developing five hydroelectric projects in the departments of Antioquia and Santander…”

“‘Piedra del Sol’ is a hydroelectric project using the run-of-the-river technique on the Fonce River in the Pinchote, San Gil, Socorro and Cabrera areas of Santander department where the company failed to guarantee the effective participation of the population with respect to the environmental impact of the project.”

“CCALCP filed a motion for protection in 2016 with the Autoridad Nacional de Licencias Ambientales (ANLA – National Authority for Environmental Licences).”

“This motion led to a ruling from the Administrative Court of Santander protecting the rights of the communities affected by the project and helping pave the way for citizens’ participation in environmental decisions prior to the granting of environmental permits, meaning that citizens would have access to technical details.”

Renewable Energy World explains, “ANLA issued its refusal in September 2016, and Isagen and HMV filed an appeal in December 2016.”

W Radio further explains, “Isagen and HMV Ingenieros Ltda … filed a petition for restitution, after challenging the technical considerations made by the authority to the Environmental Impact Study and the process of socialization and citizen participation.”

On April 20, 2018, Renewable Energy World reported, “ANLA has upheld its decision to reject the permit request for the 152-MW Piedra del Sol hydro project in Colombia, citing deficiencies in information related to the project’s impact on water supply and fragile ecosystems in northern Santander department, among other factors.”

Photo from UNO news report, March 30, 2018.