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| On April 24, 2019, the delegation visited the Clear Creek Superfund site, a mining cleanup operation managed by the US EPA and the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment. |
To address the growing problem of illegal and small-scale artisanal gold mining in Peru, ABA ROLI recently hosted a week-long study tour in Denver, Colorado on Investigating, Litigating, and Adjudicating Complex Environmental Cases for Peruvian justice sector actors. The delegation met with their U.S. counterparts to gather knowledge and skills on how the U.S. criminal enforcement system combats environmental and related crimes, such as soil and water pollution caused by illegal mining activity. In addition to these meetings, the delegation made site visits to the National Enforcement Investigation Center, the EPA’s forensic laboratory for environmental crimes; and the Clear Creek Superfund site, a mining cleanup operation managed by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment.
This study tour is essential to the delegation’s continued work because illegal gold mining has developed into a significant challenge in the Latin America region, including Peru, a country considered to be one of the world’s most biodiverse countries due to its large swathes of natural rainforest and wildlife preserves. For instance, illegal gold mining in Madre de Dios has led to deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon and mercury pollution in Peru’s water sources. This mercury pollution is threatening the food security of indigenous, rural, and urban communities because critical Peruvian wildlife, including fish, jaguars, and river dolphins have become at risk. Because of these challenges and the relationship between illegal gold mining and organized crime, ABA ROLI has continued its efforts to strengthen Peru’s environmental crimes enforcement through investigations, prosecutions, sanctions, and legal remedies.
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| In Denver, the group met with employees of the National Enforcement Investigation Center to address best practices needed for the collection and analysis of mercury and cyanide. |
Since 2012, ABA ROLI has worked with the Peruvian justice sector to support the implementation of criminal justice system reforms and its transition from an inquisitorial trial system to an accusatorial trial system. ABA ROLI has worked directly in 31 of Peru’s 33 judicial districts and provided trainings, workshops, and online courses aimed at improving the transparency, efficiency, and effectiveness of coordination between the justice sector institutions and law enforcement agencies. To date, ABA ROLI has trained more than 6,000 judges, prosecutors, attorneys, public defenders, police officers, law professors, and law students to operate effectively under the new criminal justice system. This body of work includes specialized capacity building on combating corruption, narco-trafficking, illegal gold mining, human trafficking, money laundering, and environmental crimes. In addition, ABA ROLI works with law students and professors to promote the adaptation of law schools to the country’s accusatorial criminal justice system.
During the delegation’s site visit the National Enforcement Investigation Center, the delegation addressed the investigation process of environmental crimes, such as the best practices needed for the collection and analysis of mercury and cyanide— common chemical byproducts of mining activity that can be used as evidence in a lawsuit.
Another visit the delegation made during the week included Clear Creek. They learned from the site’s Remedial Project Managers about common risks, costs, and challenges associated with the restoration process of land and water contaminated by mining, and the technology used to facilitate the cleanup process. The activity put into perspective the practical impact of regulatory and statutory systems that govern mining operations in the US.
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| The Peruvian delegation met with Colorado's Attorney General Phil Weiser (middle, back row), during the study tour in Denver, Colorado. ABA ROLI's Country Director for Peru, Raul Callirgos is pictured far left. |
The delegation met with a number of officials during the week-long study tour, including: Phil Weiser, Colorado’s Attorney General; Linda Kato, an EPA’s Regional Enforcement Counsel; Patricia Davies, an Assistant US Attorney; Kristen Keteles, an EPA’s Toxicologist; Lance Ehrig, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the EPA’s Region 8; Troy Arnold, the Criminal Environmental Investigator for the Colorado Attorney General’s Office; Claire Cragan, Solicitor for the U.S. Department of the Interior; David Lucas, Wildlife Refuge Manager at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge; Judge William Martinez of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado; Scot Anderson of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation and Partner of Hogan Lovells; Dr. Nicole Smith of the Colorado School of Mines; Alan Gilbert of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, LLP; Heidi Ruckriegle of WilmerHale; and Ken Salazar, Former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior.
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| Raul Callirgos (bottom, far left), ABA ROLI's Country Director for Peru; and Greg Taylor (fourth from right), Program Officer for ABA ROLI's Latin America and the Caribbean Division, are pictured with members of the delegation at Clear Creek Superfund site. |
Learn more about ABA ROLI’s work across Latin American and the Caribbean.
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