Overview
- Profepa imposed a temporary total closure of the Complejo Agroindustrial de Santander’s discharge activities on Sunday after federal inspectors visited the site to investigate a mass fish die-off linked to the Río Limón.
- Inspectors documented a pipe carrying vinaza to adjacent sugarcane fields, direct discharges onto natural soil near an arroyo that connects to the Río Limón, a dark foul-smelling residue in gutters, and large numbers of dead insects.
- Conagua, Profepa and the Veracruz PMA are coordinating forensic sampling and georeferencing; Conagua will take additional water samples from the company, the nearby arroyo and the Río Limón to measure NOM-001-SEMARNAT-2021 parameters and dissolved oxygen.
- The company holds a permit to apply wastewater to cane fields through 2028, but authorities are examining whether the method or location of discharges violated permit conditions and whether those practices caused the ecological damage.
- Vinaza is a high-organic distillery wastewater that can deplete dissolved oxygen and kill fish, so laboratory results now under way could trigger enforcement, cleanup orders and impacts for local fishers and water users.