Chilean court upholds $1 billion fine for undeclared beer production and wastewater discharge

Chile's Second Environmental Court has upheld a substantial fine of approximately one billion pesos against Embotelladora Metropolitana (EMSA). The penalty, originally levied by the Superintendency of the Environment (SMA), was for manufacturing beer in Colbún without proper declaration and for discharging industrial wastewater that had not undergone environmental assessment.

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The SMA correctly developed the sanctioning procedure against EMSA, therefore, it fully maintained the resolution that ordered the fine.

The court rejected EMSA's appeal, confirming the SMA's decision to sanction the company with 1,264 Monthly Tax Units (UTA). The ruling highlighted that the unassessed industrial wastewater and modifications to the project without authorization constituted significant infractions. The SMA initiated its investigation following citizen complaints about wastewater discharge into the estero Sin Nombre.

The tribunal found that the SMA conducted its sanctioning procedure correctly. It also noted that while previous sanctions against EMSA were issued by a regional health authority for different environmental issues, they still represented actions by a sectoral body with environmental competence. The court considered these prior sanctions when determining the final penalty.

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the SMA correctly weighed the circumstances of Article 40 of its Organic Law to establish the fine against the wastewater plant.

EMSA's project, located on three hectares in Colbún, Maule Region, involves a wastewater treatment system. Notably, the company's ownership changed in September 2022 when national private fund CHL Capital acquired it from Inversiones Andalucía, shortly after EMSA sold its beer brand, Volcanes del Sur, to Compañía de Cervecerías Unidas (CCU).

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the SMA weighed the circumstances of Article 40 of its Organic Law to establish the fine against the wastewater plant.