Case Name: Rio Doce vs. União Federal e Estado de Minas Gerais (Disaster in Mariana and the Minas Gerais Disaster Prevention Plan)

Summary

This is a lawsuit filed by Rio Doce, represented by the Pachamama Association, against the Federal Government and the state of Minas Gerais due to the collapse of the Samarco mining company's tailings dam in the municipality of Mariana/MG. The lawsuit seeks to recognize the Rio Doce Hydrographic Basin as a legal entity and to hold the Federal Government and the State of Minas Gerais responsible for omissions in disaster prevention measures. The disaster contaminated the Rio Doce with 62 million cubic meters of iron ore sludge, causing damage to the Rio Doce ecosystem and its riverside populations. It is argued that the National Policy on Climate Change – PNMC (Law 12.187/2009) and the National Policy on Civil Protection and Defense (Law 12.608/2012) were not complied with, which actively contributed to the socio-environmental disaster. It is argued that the National Climate Change Policy (PNMC) obliges the State to reconcile socio-economic development with the protection of the climate system, and that the National Adaptation Plan to Climate Change (PNA) has identified flaws in its implementation, especially regarding the failure to establish a national registry of municipalities with areas susceptible to disasters and the lack of a State Civil Protection and Defense Plan. These would be important instruments to guarantee the protection of river basins and the prevention of future disasters. Thus, it is asserted that the State's omission in fulfilling obligations for preventive disaster management foreseen in the norms of the Law of the Sea, Climate Law, and Disaster Law must be remedied. In a preliminary injunction, it is requested that the Doce River Basin be recognized as a subject of law; and that all persons have broad standing to defend the right to a healthy existence of the Doce River Basin. The lawsuit seeks to condemn the Federal Government and the state of Minas Gerais to establish a national registry of municipalities with areas susceptible to disasters and to develop a Disaster Prevention Plan for Minas Gerais, with the participation of representatives from academic institutions and riverside communities. Ultimately, it requests that the action be upheld, confirming the preliminary injunctions.

The ruling dismissed the case without prejudice, finding that the Rio Doce Hydrographic Basin lacked legal personality. The case was archived after the ruling became final.

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Main norms mobilized

• Federal Constitution (CRFB/88)
• ILO Convention 169 (Federal Decrees 5.051/2004 and 10.088/2019)
• National Civil Defence System Law (Federal Law 12.340/2010)
• National Policy on Civil Protection and Defense Act (Federal Law 12.608/2012)
• National Policy on Climate Change Act - PNMC (Federal Law 12.187/2009)
• UN Convention on Biological Diversity (1992)

Case timeline

Case documents