Stalemate at Wastewater Plant Holds; Still no Communication

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GUANGZHOU 000545 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/CM, DRL AND OES/PCI EPA FOR OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV PHUM ECON PGOV CH SUBJECT: Stalemate at Wastewater Plant Holds; Still no Communication with Local Government REF A: GUANGZHOU 534 GUANGZHOU 00000545 001.2 OF 002 (U) This document is sensitive but unclassified. Not for internet distribution. Please protect accordingly. ¶1. (U) Summary: Local villagers continued to control a suspect Quanzhou wastewater treatment plant (reftel) as of September 14. To attract the attention of officials, villagers began filling contaminated holding tanks with soil September 9. Authorities have restricted inter-village communication by preventing five elderly musicians from using musical instruments to signal neighboring villages. Villagers dispute local press reports that officials have made good-faith efforts to resolve the stalemate. The case of the water treatment plant might have been raised in a recent Political Consultative Conference meeting. Villagers are skeptical of official claims that local environmental degradation is due to the leaking deep-seawater pipe of a nearby chemical factory, not the water treatment plant. Villagers await the findings of government test reports, which they believe will bolster the protestors' position. Post will continue to monitor the situation. End summary. Villagers Fill Tanks with Earth -------------- ¶2. (SBU) With local officials unwilling to engage in direct contact with villagers from Fengwei Township located near Quanzhou, Fujian Province, regarding a suspect water treatment facility, the villagers say they felt compelled to take action September 9 in an attempt to attract official attention. Villagers say 700 to 800 villagers gathered and hauled dirt to the plant, then dumped it into the wastewater. The villagers say they were able to fill approximately one-fifth of the plant's holding tanks using this method. While they do not know whether this action was successful in catching the attention of authorities, they do know that it piqued the interest of police; a handful of police personnel watched the activity from a distance but made no effort to stop it. Authorities Put End to Dissonant Chord -------------- ¶3. (SBU) To gather residents of nearby villages for the dirt hauling event as well as the August 31 protest (reftel),the villagers have relied on audio signals from five senior citizens with musical instruments. Villagers claim that two police officers now guard each musicians' residence to prevent their elderly inhabitants from exiting or using their instruments. Media Inaccuracies -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Villagers dispute September 8 and 9 press reports claiming that local officials have taken steps to hear and address the concerns of villagers relating to the Quangang Wastewater Plant. According to a September 8 report in the Quanzhou Evening News and a release by the Xinhua News Agency the same day, the local district government sent 20 teams to visit with local residents, understand their concerns, and field their questions. Villagers say these "teams" were low-ranking government workers with relatives in the village who were called in and instructed to encourage the villagers to stop protesting and return control of the wastewater plant to local officials. ¶5. (SBU) The Quanzhou Evening News report also claimed that a team of approximately 300 local officials had held meetings with villagers, the local People's Congress, the Senior Citizen's Association, and the People's Political Consultative Conference to search for solutions. The report went on to claim that local officials had issued two written documents responding to the villagers' requests, but villagers say they have yet to see or meet with any authoritative local officials; most officials, the villagers believe, are still afraid to enter the village. ¶6. (SBU) Villagers said they had heard that delegates at a recent Political Consultative Conference meeting did raise concerns about GUANGZHOU 00000545 002.2 OF 002 the waste treatment plant. Among the concerns raised were the plant's lack of capacity for handling industrial wastes and the need for improved equipment and operations if the plant were required to handle industrial wastes. The Xinhua release said the government teams distributed a letter issued by the local government apologizing for "irregularity" in the operation of the wastewater plant and for using force against the villagers on August 31. Villagers, though, say they have received contradictory messages: one government notice claimed that the wastewater was smelly but not harmful, while another notice said that the wastewater was heavily polluted and would require advanced treatment. Another Culprit? Or Misdirection? -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The September 8 Quanzhou Evening News report claimed that the local government had established five working groups, consisting mostly of local officials, to address two problems: 1) the pollution at the wastewater plant; and 2) the repair of a local chemical company's deep seawater pipe that is reportedly leaking sewage. According to the press report, the chemical plant is located in Meizhou Bay -- not far from the wastewater plant -- and produces alkali. Officials say the leaking deep seawater pipe was discovered about the same time the problems with the wastewater plant came to light. Officials claim it is the problem with the deep seawater pipe, not the wastewater treatment plant, that has negatively impacted the area's aquaculture farms. ¶8. (SBU) Villagers are highly skeptical of the official claims regarding the seawater pipe. Villagers told us that after taking control of the wastewater plant and shutting off the intake pipes, industrial wastes -- including those from a number of tanneries -- were rerouted to another facility in Kuibi village. Villagers claim that this overburdened pipelines running underneath Kuibi village and resulted in a September 10 pipe rupture that caused industrial wastes to bubble to the surface in Kuibi. Villagers claim that government officials sent a tanker truck to collect the waste in Kuibi and have ordered local tanneries to suspend operations. A September 9 report on the China National Radio website said that nine leather companies around the area had suspended operations, but attributed the suspension to the government's effort to reduce pressure on the villager-occupied Quangang Wastewater Plant. ¶9. (SBU) The posting on the China National Radio website also claimed that the results of samples taken at the plant by a joint inspection team consisting of personnel from the East-China Inspection Center of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Fujian Environmental Protection Department would be published as soon as possible, hopefully containing recommendations that might help reduce the smell and help neutralize the pollutants. Villagers claim to have already received the "leaked" results of the sampling. The results, they say, show that the wastewater at the plant contains significant amounts of heavy metals. GOLDBECK