Xepian Xenamnoy Dam collapse, not a “force majeure” event
The Korean government, SK Engineering & Construction and all related stakeholders should take responsibility following the results of the investigation.
The National Investigation Committee (NIC) of Laos announced yesterday that the collapse of saddle dam D of the Xepian Xenamnoy hydropower project last year is a man-made disaster. The Independent Expert Panel (IEP) concluded that the accident could have been prevented by taking appropriate measures, thus dam failure incident cannot be considered as “force majeure". As the NIC said, SK Engineering & Construction, the South Korean government and other stakeholders including PNPC should do their best to compensate for the accident in accordance with the results. In addition, the government should take steps to improve necessary systems such as the mandatory implementation of safeguards, a basic device to prevent environmental, social and human rights adverse effects of large-scale development projects and protect the rights of local residents.
According to Laos' state news agency, the IEP confirmed that although the rainfall had been quite heavy during the days leading up the dam failure, the reservoir level had been still below the maximum operation level and well below the crest level when the failure started. The IEP concluded that the root cause of the failure is due to the high permeability combined with internal erosion largely due to the occurrence of canaliculus interconnected paths. With raising water level during the filling of the reservoir, seepage flow developed in the foundation along these paths and horizons with high permeability. This resulted in internal erosion and softening of the Laterite soil. It also said that when the erosion and softening in the foundation reached a certain extent, the dam stability was no longer ensured and a deep rotational sliding at the highest section of the saddle dam was triggered. This finally led to complete breaching of the saddle dam and its foundation resulting in the catastrophic uncontrolled release of water from the reservoir.
The findings by IEP’s investigation have already been predicted. After the failure, some dam design experts raised that the soil in the area was unsuitable for the construction of the dam, and the Korean Civil Society TF team and several international NGOs questioned the environmental impact assessment investigation process and the results of it during the project's implementation. The findings confirm that the geological environment and soil in the area were poorly analyzed and that the design and construction were not appropriate either.
Until now, SK E&C and the South Korean government have maintained that they cannot disclose any position until the official results of the Lao government's investigation have been released. However, when the IEP’s result was announced, SK E&C doesn’t reveal the results of its own investigation into the cause of the accident, saying that the IEP's findings are nothing more than empirical reasoning that lacks scientific evidence and data. SK E&C also insists the South Korean government investigation team and the world's leading engineering firms, which took part in the investigation as observers, are also claiming that they have different opinions from the cause of the accident as stated by the IEP. However, this claim by SK E&C does not at least support the existing SK E&C’s claim that the cause of the failure was due to "a natural disaster caused by heavy rain," nor does it provide concrete and reasonable grounds for their opinion against IEP's results which conducted by Lao government for 10 months.
Before of the announcement of the findings by NIC, one Lao government official said in the media interview, "The disclosure is being delayed as we are negotiating with the South Korean government over the scope of the disclosure of the investigation results report." The findings on the root causes of the tragic disaster, in which dozens of people were killed or missing and thousands of residents were driven from their homes of life, should be made public without disguise. It is impossible to cover up the findings, even in part. The South Korean government, the Lao government, SK E&C, PNPC, and all other related entities should disclose information related to the failure transparently, including whether the environmental and social impact assessment was conducted correctly and that they complied with safeguards, as well as take responsibility for the consequences of the accident. Residents who lived in peace lost their families and lost their livelihood overnight without knowing why it happened. Thorough investigation, reasonable restoration of damage, compensation, and measures to prevent recurrence of such a tragedy are necessary. Once again, we urge the Korean government, SK E&C and related stakeholders to take responsibility.
29 May 2019
Korean CSO Task Force Team for the Xe Pian-Xe Nam Noy Dam Collapse
Energy & Climate Policy Institute / Korean Federation for Environmental Movement/ Korea Green Foundation / KTNC Watch / PEACE MOMO / People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy / PIDA
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