Brazil environmental disaster victims take case against mining giant BHP to UK court

LONDON (AP) — Victims of Brazil’s worst environmental disaster took their case for compensation to a UK court Monday, almost nine years after tons of toxic mining waste poured into a major waterway, killing 19 people and devastating local communities.

The class action lawsuit at the High Court in London seeks an estimated 36 billion pounds ($47 billion) in damages from the global mining giant BHP. That would make it the largest environmental payout ever, according to Pogust Goodhead, the law firm representing the plaintiffs.

“The claimants respectfully submit that BHP’s liability to compensate them for their losses is, at the end of the day, straightforward and obvious,” attorney Alain Choo Choy said in written submissions. “BHP is a polluter and must therefore pay.”

BHP owns 50% of Samarco, the Brazilian company that operates the iron ore mine where a tailings dam ruptured on Nov. 5, 2015, releasing enough mine waste to fill 13,000 Olympic-size swimming pools into the Doce River in southeastern Brazil. The case was filed in Britain because one of BHP’s two main legal entities was based in London at the time.

BHP attorney Shaheed Fatima said in written submissions that the claim has “no basis.” BHP did not own or operate the dam, adding that BHP “had limited knowledge of the dam, and no knowledge that its stability was compromised.”

The trial comes days after BHP announced that the company and its partner in Samarco, Vale SA, were negotiating a settlement with public authorities in Brazil that could provide $31.7 billion for people, communities and the environment damaged.

BHP said it believes the UK action is unnecessary because it duplicates matters covered by reparation efforts and legal proceedings in Brazil. But Pogust Goodhead said in a statement that the potential settlement shouldn’t have any impact on the case.

“Such timing only proves that the companies responsible for Brazil’s biggest environmental disaster are determined to do everything they can to prevent the victims from seeking justice, and are willing to perpetuate the shameful behavior they have demonstrated over the last nine years,” the firm said.

Melbourne, Australia-based BHP said the possible settlement would resolve a claim filed by Brazil’s Federal Public Prosecution Office and other claims by Brazilian public authorities.

“BHP will continue to defend the (UK) action, which it believes is unnecessary because it duplicates matters already covered by the ongoing reparation work and legal proceedings in Brazil,” BHP said Saturday.

The disaster destroyed two villages, killed 14 tons of freshwater fish and damaged 660 kilometers (410 miles) of the Doce River, according to a study by the University of Ulster.

The river, which the Krenak Indigenous people revere as a deity, was polluted so badly that it has yet to recover.

Danica Kirka, The Associated Press