Instituto Internacional Arayara and Fishermen’s Colony Z-5 v. Copelmi Mineração Ltda. and FEPAM (Mina Guaíba Project and affected communities)

On March 11, 2020, the NGO Instituto Internacional Arayara and the Fishermen's Colony Z-5 filed a Public Civil Action (environmental class-action) against Copelmi Mineração Ltda., a mining company, and FEPAM (the state environmental agency). The plaintiffs asked the court to suspend and cancel the environmental permitting process for the Guaíba Mine Project, led by Copelmi, considered the largest open-pit coal project in the country. The project is to be installed in areas inhabited by traditional communities, such as the Z-5 Fishermen's Colony and indigenous territories. It relates to the State Coal Policy and the Carbochemical Pole of Rio Grande do Sul (RS) - created by State Law 15.047/2017—which the plaintiffs claim was instituted without popular consultation. They argue that more public hearings for the project were requested by affected communities, but the requests were ignored. In addition, they point out that there was no prior, free and informed consultation with the fishermen of Colony Z-5, a traditional community. They claim that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA/RIMA) for the project has many gaps, since it ignored the area of influence of the Atlantic Forest biome and the rights of the affected communities. They argue the permitting process violated the Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization (ILO), the Federal Constitution and the State Environmental Code of Rio Grande do Sul, and must be declared null as it also contradicts the fight against climate change determined by the National Policy on Climate Change - PNMC (Federal Law 12.187 / 2009). In its defense, FEPAM, among other arguments, states that: (i) the plaintiff presents no grounds for the request to suspend the project and affirms the violation of the National Policy on Climate Change without giving further reasoning; (ii) the Judiciary cannot evaluate the environmental feasibility of the project, especially its compatibility with the National Policy on Climate Change; (iii) the permitting process was regular, since public hearings were held and no obstacle was found to the participation of the fishermen of Colony Z-5, also alleging that the EIA does not need to be exhaustive, being possible to carry out supplementations after the environmental license is granted. Copelmi also filed a defense, claiming among other points that: (i) the requests for prohibition of the project in relation to the violation of the National Policy on Climate Change lacks a cause of action; (ii) the environmental permitting procedure included public hearings in the municipalities that make up its area of direct influence, in compliance with environmental regulations; (iii) the issues raised by the plaintiffs were duly analyzed in the EIA/RIMA; (iv) ILO Convention 169 does not apply to artisanal fishermen in the Jacuí Delta region, as they do not qualify as tribal people; and (v) the Guaíba Mine Project will not have a direct impact on fishermen. Subsequently, there was a decision determining the suspension of this process for six months, considering that the permitting procedure for the Guaíba Mine project was declared null and void in the scope of the case “Arayara Association of Education and Culture and others v. FUNAI, Copelmi Mineração Ltda. and FEPAM (Mina Guaíba Project and affected indigenous communities)." The suspension was determined in order to await the exhaustion of the appeal phase and the confirmation or not of the decision of that lawsuit. In March 2025, Copelmi informed the court that it was withdrawing from the Guaíba Mine Project and requested that the environmental licensing process be closed. As a result, the judge recognized the loss of purpose and extinguished the case without resolving the merits.