RESETTLEMENT

The resettlement program’s mission is to restructure the ways of life and organization of communities which lost their homes due to the passage of the tailings after the Fundão dam collapse – Bento Rodrigues and Paracatu de Baixo districts in Mariana; Gesteira, in Barra Longa; and the rural communities of the respective municipalities. Its main goal is to ensure the homes and the areas where they will be placed, such as the public facilities meet the needs raised by residents, support the resumption of productive activities and preserve their habits, their neighborhood relations and cultural and religious traditions.

  • Designed with the active participation of future residents, the resettlement project is similar to the building cities’ dynamic
  • About 500 families have actively participated on the process
  • Resettlement model with the protagonism of families in the construction of the project for their communities

THE RESETTLES AT BENTO RODRIGUES AND PARACATU DE BAIXO, IN MARIANA (MG), GAIN SHAPE WITH THE HOMES BEING COMPLETED, IN PAVED STREETS, ASSETS FOR COLLECTIVE USE UNDER CONSTRUCTION, ILLUMINATED ROADWAYS AND ADVANCED INFRASTRUCTURE WORKS. THE WORKS WERE ADAPTED TO THE COVID-19 SCENARIO. SOCIAL MONITORING WITH FAMILIES IS HAPPENING VIRTUALLY AND IN PERSON.

  • Bento Rodrigues | 209 families*: Bento Rodrigues resettlement gains the shape of the district which was designed along with the residents. The infrastructure works are completed, considering roads (more than 70,000 square meters, with more than 6 tons of asphalt and 33,000 square meters of interlocking floor), drainage (more than 34 km), electricity (more than 10 km of high voltage network and more than 9 km of low voltage network), water networks (about 14 km) and sewage from the streets (about 8 km). The rest of the works, such as landscaping, drinking water, signage, sidewalks, and alleys, are linked to the construction of houses. Health and Service Center, Municipal School and Sewage Treatment Station are ready. The works of the Assembleia de Deus church and the Association of Horticultural products from Bento Rodrigues (AHOBERO) has begun. The focus of resettlement is on housing construction: 47 are completed and 103 are under construction, 172 basic projects had been filed with the city hall, 161 permits and 23 simplified licenses for lots were issued
  • Paracatu de Baixo | 81 families*: 26 houses were started, and the works of the elementary school, kindergarten and health center were also started. The infrastructure is close to be completed and the following has been performed: earth works of the access roads and the areas of the lots (more than 1.2 million cubic meters), retaining walls, works on the rain water drainage network (more than 1.2 km of network), treated water pipeline (more than 1 km) sewage network (more than 1.7 km). The paving of the main access has been completed. About 59 basic projects were filed with the City Hall, 59** house permits were issued, and 11 permits were issued for collective use goods (Campo, São Vicente house, cemetery, school – court, kindergarten, Santo Antônio chapel, Health Center, service center, community hall, archaeological site and Santo Antônio square) and 5** simplified licenses for lots.
    **The counted calls do not consider calls that opted for another modality.
  • Family Resettlement | 128 families*: family resettlement is an option for families who have lost their homes but want to live outside the collective resettlements of Bento Rodrigues or Paracatu de Baixo. 16 renovated houses were delivered, which means that families received the keys and move into the residences. 87 properties were acquired for families who opted for this modality, with 31 properties to be renovated, 46 properties to be built and 10 structured lots. Among these acquisitions, works are being carried out on 17 houses (construction and renovation) in the urban and rural areas of Mariana.
  • Reconstruction | 9 families*: the reconstruction of the housing of families in the rural areas of Mariana and Barra Longa is part of the repair actions. The work contemplates restoring the right to adequate housing, resuming productive activities, and accessing infrastructure and the collective assets of communities. 6 houses of the reconstruction modality were delivered
  • Gesteira | 8 families*: Since November 2019, the collective resettlement of Gesteira has been dealt with in the Public Civil Action (ACP), which is being processed at the 12th Federal Civil/Agrarian Court of Minas Gerais. To start the works, the Renova Foundation is waiting for the Court to ratify the conceptual project, drawn up based on the community’s draft, technical advisors and the Social and Environmental Studies and Research Group (GEPSA) of the Federal University of Ouro Preto (UFOP). The conceptual project was adapted to the legal and normative parameters by the Renova Foundation and filed in the ACP records in May 2020. On July 22, 2021, a new proposal for the conceptual project was filed in court, considering the status of the families which opted for collective resettlement and for family resettlement services, in addition to the premises for readjusting the urban design expressed by Ramboll, MP expert, by the Aedastechnical advisory services, GEPSA and the affected people committee in July 2020. In a decision handed down in August, the court appointed the carrying out of a technical expertise to evaluate the proposals already developed by the process parties
    RENOVA FOUNDATION, RESPONDING TO REQUESTS FROM FAMILIES IN GESTEIRA, PRESENTED A PROPOSAL AND CLOSED AGREEMENTS WITH 29 FAMILY NUCLEUS FOR THE ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY THROUGH THE REPAIR MODEL OF THE RIGHT TO HOUSING,KNOWN AS FAMILY RESETTLEMENT. 23 OF THESE FAMILIES OWN THEIR ACQUIRED PROPERTY, AND 22 OF THESE PROPERTIES ARE ALREADY IN THE NAME OF THE AFFECTED PEOPLE. ANOTHER THREE FAMILIES OPTED FOR THE PAYMENT OF INTEGRAL AGREEMENTS WITHOUT THE ACQUISITION OF REAL ESTATE. THE OTHERS ARE BEING ATTENDED IN ONE OF THE STAGES OF THE ACQUISITION PROCESS. THE FAMILY RESETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS WERE JUDICIALLY APPROVED UNDER THE ACP. AFTER THE PROPERTY PURCHASE AND TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP TO THE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FAMILY NUCLEUS, THE RENOVA FOUNDATION IS RESPONSIBLE FOR SUPPORTING THE FAMILY IN THE MOVING TO THE NEW HOUSING, AS WELL AS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ACTIONS TO RESTORE ECONOMIC AND PRODUCTIVE ACTIVITIES WITH REFERENCE TO THE EXISTING PRACTICES OF THE FAMILIES BEFORE THE COLLAPSE.

*THE NUMBER OF CALLS IN EACH RESETTLEMENT IS ESTIMATED AND CHANGES DUE TO THE POSSIBILITY OF FAMILIES MIGRATING BETWEEN MODALITIES – FROM COLLECTIVE RESETTLEMENT TO FAMILY RESETTLEMENT, FOR EXAMPLE – OR CHOOSING ANOTHER REPAIR FORM.

  • R$ 2.24 billion disbursed in resettlements so far
  • R$ 1,79 billion is the budget foreseen to the program in 2022
  • Until the villages are built and other housing repairs are completed, the provision of temporary housing to families who have this right is guaranteed in the region of Mariana and Barra Longa

INFRASTRUCTURE AND ACCESS

The reconstruction and recovery of damaged infrastructures in the Mariana and Barra Longa region, in Minas Gerais State, are part of the repair actions undertaken by the Renova Foundation since 2016. Houses, rural properties, schools, bridges, squares, artesian wells and retaining slopes were delivered after extensive work involving demolition, cleaning and removal of waste, rubble and debris resulting from the collapse. 

  • More than 1,600 works already completed and delivered
  • 142.2 kilometers of recovered accesses
  • More than 1,600 kilometers of maintenance in accesses
  • More than 200 kilometers of fences were built on rural properties

Barra Longa (MG State)

The only municipality with a directly impacted urban area, Barra Longa had its public and private equipments cleaned and restructured. 

  • About 300 renovated / reconstructed properties (residences, rural properties, trading shops, and schools)

WATER SAFETY

One of the repair fronts at the Rio Doce basin region promotes the improvement of water safety of municipalities which were impacted on the quality and supply of water due to the collapse of the Fundão dam. Renova Foundation carries out improvements on water supply systems with the implementation of alternative intakes to reduce the direct dependency of the Doce River. Doce River water can be consumed after conventional treatment, under the responsibility of the public supply operators who work in each municipality.

  • 17 completed Water Treatment Systems, between conventional ETAs and simplified treatments
  • 18 water pipelines completed (between the built and the renovated ones)
  • 15 Alternative Capture Systems completed (between surface and underground sources)
    In municipalities with up to 100 thousand inhabitants, 30% of the water sent for treatment must originate independently from the Doce River; for larger cities, the target will be 50%.
  • Governador Valadares pipeline under construction
    With 38 km in length, the new intake will be part of the Governador Valadares supply network, taking water from the Corrente Grande River to the Central Water Treatment Plants (ETA), Santa Rita and Vila Isa. Up to 900 liters per second will be supplied, which will ensure greater water security, as the municipality will have a new source of water collection in addition to the Doce River. Follow the progress of the works

For more information:

Expedição Rio Doce

SANITATION

A fundamental action for the revitalization of the Doce River is due to the compensatory measure that foresees the Renova Foundation resources allocation to the municipalities impacted by the tailings for improvement projects in the collection, and treatment of sewage, and the proper disposal of urban solid waste. Investments can take the Doce River to a level of depollution which has not been seen in years. The forecast is that around 1.5 million people will benefit.

  • More than R$ 710 million made available for projects and construction works for collection, sewage treatment and proper disposal of solid urban waste in 39 municipalities
    According to the Rio Doce River Basin Committee (CBH-Doce), 80% of all sewage generated by the municipalities affected by the Fundão collapse does not undergo treatment and the volume is directly dumped into the river. Much of the collected solid waste end up in landfills.
  • Until April 2022, R$ 43.3 million had been transferred to sanitary sewage and solid waste actions for 32 municipalities and 2 consortia served by the Sanitation Program. Six works are completed in five municipalities: São José do Goiabal, Rio Casca and Sem-Peixe, in Minas Gerais, and Colatina and Linhares, in Espírito Santo. These five cities received the transfer of R$ 17.7 million from the Renova Foundation
  • Of these five municipalities, only São José do Goiabal concluded all the works for which it was requested. The others still have other works to be carried out and resources to be received
  • The development banks of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo State (BDMG and Bandes, respectively) are responsible for monitoring the application of funds
  • In addition to making resources available, the Renova Foundation provides technical support services to municipalities

THE INITIATIVE IS ONE OF THE RENOVA FOUNDATION’S MAIN COMPENSATIVE FRONTS, A COUNTERPART TO DAMAGES WHICH RESTORE, MITIGATION, REMEDY AND / OR REPAIR WILL NOT BE POSSIBLE. IT WILL ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO MUNICIPALITIES ACHIEVE THE ESTABLISHED GOALS OF THE NEW LEGAL FRAMEWORK OF BASIC SANITATION, WHICH FORESEES THE UNIVERSALIZATION OF WATER AND SEWAGE SERVICES (SEWAGE COLLECTION AND TREATMENT FOR 90% OF THE POPULATION AND SUPPLY OF DRINKINK WATER TO 99%). DECEMBER 31, 2033.

For more information:

Expedição Rio Doce

CONTAINING REMAINING TAILINGS

In the area where the Fundão dam is located, a 40-meter-high dam, called Axis 1, was built to contain part of the rest of the tailings which remains in the reservoir. The construction applied a methodology that aims to provide more resistance to the structure. The completion of the work closes the priority actions carried out since the Fundão collapse, in November 2015, aimed at ensuring the stability of the tailing’s containment structures.