DEGRADATION: City fumbles, Canal Authority acts

THE PANAMA Canal Authority (ACP) is taking a stronger stance against a company accused of causing environmental damage than the capital city whose deputy mayor Raisa Banfield was once an activist in the field.

The North Properties has been pushed present a remediation plan to the Panama Canal Authority to reverse the effects of the deforestation of a site it is developing along the waterway.

The ACP has said the project has caused a large amount of sediment to enter the water, which could constitute a health risk.

The ACP has gave the company until Monday September 19  to present an action plan to remedy the irregularities.

If no plan is presented, the ACP will suspend work at the site. Work could also be suspended if the plan is deemed to be insufficient.

The project was approved in January 2015.

In addition to erosion, the agency found a number of health risks due to garbage on the site, which provided a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

The ACP has taken a much stronger stance on the project than the Panama Municipal Government, which stated that "repeated failure" to meet environmental standards "is not grounds for the revocation of an environmental impact study.".

The project has contaminated the Caimito River, which empties into Miraflores Lake, which is in the Panama Canal basin.