Following a government decision to give Doe Run Peru more time to rein in pollution caused by its smelter in La Oroya, a network of Peruvian civic and environmental groups is calling for an independent environmental authority to step in. “Decisions like this demonstrate that it is inappropriate for the Ministry of Energy and Mines to play the dual role of promoting investment and serving as environmental authority,” the Muqui Network said in a statement this month. The network, comprising some 20 environmental, human rights, church and social-action groups concerned about mining’s community impacts, wants greater attention paid to health problems in La Oroya. It advocates the creation of an “independent, autonomous environmental authority that acts with transparency and seriousness, and that has the... [Log in to read more]