Proposta de compensação ambiental econômica das áreas reabilitadas com restrição de uso por contaminação das águas subterrâneas em Minas Gerais

Abstract

Groundwater is widely used for urban public water supply in Brazil and Minas Gerais due to its good natural quality and greater stability in the face of droughts and climate variability. Despite its importance, the use of groundwater faces significant challenges, such as insufficient monitoring and increasing contamination from human activities. Due to the absence of specific regulations and standards for calculating financial compensation for groundwater contamination in the management of contaminated areas in the State of Minas Gerais, a methodology was proposed to estimate a value to be imposed on those responsible for the contamination. This compensation is justified by the deprivation of the use of this resource by society during the period of restricted use proposed for some rehabilitated areas in the State. The proposed method is based on calculating the volumes of groundwater with restricted use in a restriction polygon, defined by the reach of a contamination plume, identified in environmental investigation studies, by sampling and monitoring carried out in the areas of interest. The sum of the volumes of groundwater with restricted use results in a total volume, which is multiplied by the monetary value in reais (Brazilian currency), referring set by the Hydrographic Basin Committees, multiplied by the period of restricted use of the waters in the rehabilitated areas. As a final result of this work, it is expected to indicate to those responsible value due to the restriction of groundwater use and thus comply with the legal provisions of the National Water Resources Policy and the State Water Resources Policy of Minas Gerais, which recognize groundwater as an economic, social, and ecological asset.