The Be’er Sheva Magistrate’s Court levied NIS 700,000 in fines against defendants in the Nachal Tzin pollution case; The investigation was directed by the Green Police of the Ministry of the Environment.

The Be’er Sheva Magistrate’s Court imposed fines of NIS 700,000 and the punishment of a community service for four other defendants in the Nachal Tzin pollution case, each according to its share – the Negev Mountain Transport Company Ltd., its managers and its two employees.

Prior to that, sentences were handed down in the case of other defendants: Rolider Ltd. (defendant 7) was fined NIS 500,000. The company’s project manager (defendant 9) and two other employees (defendants 10-11). They received fines and community service.

On January 18, 2016, the indictments were submitted to the Magistrate’s Court against the plaintiffs; against the Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company Ltd. (“EAPC”), Rolider Ltd., the Negev Mountain Movers Company Ltd. And 12 additional officers in these companies during the relevant period, in respect of two events in which EAPC’s pipeline was damaged during renovations in June and September 2011. As a result of these injuries, heavy pollution of the Tzin River and its environs resulted.

The investigation was directed by the Green Police of the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

The Negev Transport Company and its managers (defendants 12-15 in the indictment) admitted in the indictment filed against them, for environmental offenses including aggravated water pollution, dumping of hazardous waste and dirt in the public domain, breach of the duty of an officer to supervise and prevent violations of the Maintenance of Cleanliness Law, damage to a national park under aggravated circumstances, and other environmental offenses.

On Monday, July 1, 2019, as stated, a verdict was handed down in the matter of the Negev Mountain Transport Company and its officers. The owner of the Negev Mountain Transport Company Ltd. (defendant 12) was fined NIS 600,000, and the owner and manager of the company, Danny Elkrinawi (defendant 13), was fined NIS 75,000. Two other employees of the company (defendants 14-15) were also fined and punished.

In the case of the defendants 1-6, the EAPC and officers in which the case is still being conducted.

According to the indictment, the pipeline, which connects Eilat and Ashkelon, is owned and managed by EAPC, and the pipeline, some 153 kilometers between Eshel Hanasi and Shizafon, is used to transport jet fuel. A pipe test conducted by the EAPC at the end of 2007 revealed that a large number of faults were found in the pipe’s cover, which meant that it was not protected from leaks in many parts of the pipe. It was also found that in some parts the pipe is exposed and not buried in the soil. As a result, in 2008, EAPC stopped the flow of jet fuel in the pipeline.

Later it was decided to renovate the pipeline through subcontractors. Rolider is a civil engineering company that was selected by the EAPC in a tender to manage the implementation of the renovation work, and the Negev Mountain Movers Company is a contractor company that contacted Rolider for the provision of earthwork services during the renovation. Part of the route of the pipeline intended for renovation goes through the National Park Sculpture Garden near Nachal Tzin, one of the largest and most important nachals in the Negev, 120 kilometers (72 miles) long.

As a result of the indictment, in the framework of works carried out at the site to replant a tree that stood in the course of an excavation to expose the pipe that was carried out by the Negev Mountain Transport Company, the pipe was damaged by the ZMH-Bager containers. As a result, about 722,000 liters of high-intensity jet fuel broke out and sprayed the Tzin River and its environs. Some of the fuel flowed down the stream of the Tzin stream and part of it was sprayed upstream and on the hills around it. As a result of the attack, an area of some 60 dunams (15 acres) was contaminated in and around the river. During the restoration work, about 26,500 tons of polluted land were evacuated from the river and its environs.

Despite the evacuation of the massive amount of land, a large part of the jet fuel remains in the channel and in the banks of the stream even after the completion of the rehabilitation work. The breakthrough of the jet fuel placed the aquifers located under Nachal Tzin at risk of pollution. In addition, there was a strong odor of fuel in the stream of the Tzin stream and for a long period of several months at least after the incident.

In addition, the loss of a habitat of the riverbed and the danger to animals and animal eggs that came into contact with it, and to animals fed by plants damaged by fuel. As a result of the restoration work, the road to Maale Tzin was closed for three months.

On July 25, 2011, the Ministry approved the continuation of the work under various conditions, the purpose of which was to ensure proper preparedness for the treatment of jet fuel bursts during the renovation work.

On September 5, 2011, and in the framework of work carried out during the project with bulldozers, the pipe was again damaged, and again several hundred cubic meters of jet fuel broke out, causing environmental damage. During the rehabilitation work, some 7200 tons of contaminated soil were removed from the area.

Attorney Adi Damati Sagi, in a proceeding from the department to instruct the plaintiffs, is authorized by the legal advisor: “Due to many failures on which the defendants are responsible, resulting from a deviation from the safety instructions and careless work, some 30,000 tons of land were polluted and the damage caused to the environment is enormous and took responsibility for the environmental event in one of the largest scopes that have taken place in Israel until then, perhaps the largest of them”.

The case is handled by the legal bureau of the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)