EPA Collaboration with Peru

Through the years, EPA’s collaboration with Peru has resulted in a number of achievements. Some significant results from recent years include the following:

• March 2020 - Webinar on the Raura Mine: EPA Region 9 staff participated in a successful webinar with more than 20 representatives from Peru’s Agency for Environmental Assessment and Enforcement (Organismo de Evaluación y Fiscalización Ambiental- OEFA)to discuss environmental impact and inspections reports for the Raura Mine in Peru. OEFA is the Peruvian entity responsible for enforcement of environmental laws and requested this exchange to improve their capacity in inspections and enforcement. During the webinar, OEFA staff made various presentations providing more context for the situation in the mine and following these presentations, and based on prior review of inspections documents for the mine, EPA staff provided recommendations for improvements in OEFA’s processes.
• September 2019 - Megacities Partnership for the Lima-Callao Region: EPA and the Peruvian Ministry of Environment (MINAM) launched the Megacities Partnership for the Lima-Callao region in September 2019, focusing on the transportation sector in the region. The Partnership was designed to enhance, adapt and share climate and air quality management tools, to help improve air quality, protect the climate and provide important public health benefits.  One of the major milestones in this Partnership was a report that presents results from assessments of the current overall health impacts attributable to concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the region. Read the final report for the Lima Megacities Partnership.
• August 2019 - Workshop on Adjudication of Environmental Cases: A judge and two senior attorneys from EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) presented a course concerning adjudication of environmental cases to an audience of approximately 30 participants from various Peruvian agencies with environmental responsibilities, including judges from the judicial branch. The workshop touched on areas such as: environmental principles, common tools, and administrative and judicial proceedings in the U.S., among others.
• June 2019: Workshop on Promoting Environmental Compliance. EPA presented theories and practices used to promote compliance and dissuade non-compliance, as well as calculate civil penalties. EPA also described model practices for communicating environmental actions and decisions, and for responding to emergency situations. (June 2019) 
• August 2018: Workshop for OEFA on the use of the Water Quality Analysis Simulation Program (WASP) and AQUATOX models for water quality management. The discussion focused on introducing the models and how they can be used with different types of substances, and discussion of case studies. 
• April 2018: Training on public participation and crisis communication to participants from OEFA. EPA demonstrated tools for consensus building and discussed the importance of building trust and using neutral facilitation, and emphasized the need to work with other stakeholders to create early opportunities for public participation. 
• December 2017: Public-private stakeholder workshop. During the session, participants collaboratively developed priority action plans which have contributed to Peru’s Minamata Convention National Implementation Plan, particularly regarding the directives on mercury supply and trade, mercury storage, and mercury waste. Also in December 2017, a capacity-building workshop was organized for Peruvian adjudicators and environmental officials on adjudication of environmental cases. 
• September 2017: Training on environmental compliance inspections to enhance OEFA’s capabilities. The inspection training program included an “on-the-job” component through  the inspection of a regulated facility. 
• September 2016: Pilot project in partnership with Peru’s Ministry of Environment, the Province of Chincha, local NGOs and community organizations, and the private sector to reduce and prevent marine litter using EPA’s Trash Free Waters approach. EPA partnered with Battelle and Peruvian NGO Ciudad Saludable to help the  municipalities of El Carmen and Tambo de Mora prevent the entry of trash and litter into the ocean and waterways through increased recovery of recyclable materials.