DPR Declares Lapindo Mud as Natural Event
Monday, 18 February, 2008 | 15:32 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The Monitoring Team for the Lapindo Mudflow Effects Handling at the House of Representatives (DPR) has declared that the Lapindo hot mudflows occurred not because of human error, but rather natural causes.

This was related to several faults that created a mud volcano.

“This means it's a natural event. It has nothing to do with humans,” said Tamam Achda, Deputy Chairman of the Monitoring Team, when contacted by Tempo yesterday (17/2).

It is planned that the team's report will be delivered during the DPR plenary session tomorrow (19/2).

“The team will present the report based on the facts,” he said.
The hot mudflows in Porong, Sidoarjo started occurring on May 29, 2006.

The initial location was between 150 and 200 meters Southwest of Banjarpanji well, drilled by Lapindo Brantas Inc.

So far it has been impossible to control the mudflows and the area inundated by the mudflows has grown to hundreds of hectares.

There is still much debate over whether the mudflows were caused by Lapindo's mistake or a natural event.

A geology professor of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), Professor Dr. Sukendar Asikin, according to Tamam, once said that after the tectonic quake in Yogya, lithospheres began shifting underground.
“Only two days the mudflows started,” he said.

In spite of the declaration of the mudflow as a natural event, there has not been any recommendation from the team that the case in Porong was a national disaster.

Tamam went on to say that the team asked Lapindo to meet its obligations regarding payment for the sale and purchase of the mudflow victims' land.

It also asked the government to repair the infrastructure damage there to avoid disturbance and to stop the mudflows from spreading.

This was confirmed by several DPR politicians contacted by Tempo yesterday.

“Whether it's declared a national disaster or not, that's the government's authority, DPR doesn't have the authority,” said Tamam.

Yuniwati Teryana, Lapindo's Vice President of Human Resources and Public Relations at Lapindo, said that the company would still meet its obligation to pay compensation to the mud victims in Sidoarjo.

“We'll still hold to that commitment if the mudflow is declared a national disaster by the government,” she said yesterday.

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