Independent panel sought to look into oil spill
More than 30,000 people have signed a petition demanding that an independent committee be set up to investigate last month's oil spill especially since no clear answers have been provided by either PTT Global Chemical Plc (PTTGC) or the government invest
The 30,000 signatures from Thailand and overseas were collected by Change.org and will be handed over to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra next Tuesday.
As per the petition, the panel should comprise officials from oil-spill related agencies, engineering, environmental, legal and health experts as well as a representative from a civic group. The panel should not have any conflict of interest with the petroleum business and should be able to seek cooperation from related public and private agencies. The committee will have the authority to investigate the causes and the impact the spill had on local people and natural resources. It will also be tasked with creating a recovery plan, as well as improving the legal mechanisms to deal with such accidents in the future.
Meanwhile, Buntoon Srethasirote, director of the Good Governance for Social Development and the Environment Institute, said the amount of dispersant used to eliminate the oil was still under question and no clear answers had been provided so far. “Who will take responsibility for the impact?” he asked.
Separately, the owner of Wong Deun Villa resort in Koh Samet Duthathai Nawapanich said that so far, PTTGC had taken no steps to pay compensation, adding that many bookings at her resort had been cancelled.
“When PTTGC staff visited to ask about damages, I asked how they will compensate if there are no bookings for the next two months? The only answer I got was PTTGC will organise a special event or reconsider the compensation,” she said.
