It looks like a hose is inserted into the tank and something is put in there.
When I went to see the site, the surrounding trees were dead.
The cause is the identity of what was put in the tank. It is “sewage” produced by processing marine products.
Illegal dumping captured the decisive moment.
(Reporter) “I’m STV. Are you Mr. Fujiwara? I’d like to ask you about illegal dumping. When did you start?”
(Chief) “Unreasonable, unreasonable”
(Reporter) “What do you think about the fact that the town was in a position to quit illegal dumping?”
(Deputy Mayor) “As the mayor says, I apologize for any improper processing.”
Seven people, including the deputy mayor, were sent documents on the 3rd for being involved in illegal dumping.
What on earth is one of the leading fishing towns in Hokkaido?
Toyoura Town, which faces the eruption bay and is known as a production center for farmed scallops.
The deputy mayor was sent a document on the 3rd on suspicion of violating the Waste Management Law.
It is suspected that Deputy Mayor Hideki Ogawa dumped about 3 tons of sewage from the process of treating scallops at a waste treatment facility in Toyoura Town into a forest on a town-owned land in May 2021.
(Received a report from the townspeople, Norio Watanabe, Toyoura Town Representative) “A vacuum car came here and put it in with a hose. Residual water (sewage) was flowing vigorously.”
It is a town-owned land that is said to have thrown away sewage.
Trees were dead in the place where sewage was overflowing from the tank.
(Representative Norio Watanabe, Toyoura Town, who received a report from the townspeople) “I was almost fainted if I smelled it even for 3 seconds.”
In addition to Deputy Mayor Ogawa, the police include three staff members of the town office, including Hiroki Fujiwara, chief of the Industrial Tourism Division, the branch manager of the fishery cooperative that managed the treatment facility, and a contractor who dumped sewage at the direction of the town. 7 people were sent documents.
What exactly is sewage that kills trees?
When you accompany the scallop fishing, its identity is revealed.
(Reporter) “What are you around?”
(Scallop fisherman) “This is a file shell. This is also garbage.”
(Reporter) “It’s pretty good.”
(Scallop fisherman) “This is amazing, it was a lot of snow last year, so it’s amazing a year with a lot of snow.”
A large amount of deposits such as small shellfish were attached around the scallops. It started to be attached about 10 years ago, and it is said that the cause is unknown.
(Scallop fisherman) “This is the most troublesome thing, isn’t it?”
(Reporter) “There is a lot of water.”
There are also exotic shellfish that contain a large amount of water.
Fishermen manually remove them and transport them to a town-owned waste disposal facility.
(Reporter) “It’s amazing.”
A strong smell like rotten swill.
The water that comes out of this deposit is the sewage that became a problem this time.
The deposits brought into the waste treatment plant are fermented and composted for secondary use.
Originally, in the process of fermentation, water also evaporates.
However, according to the town, a large amount of sewage was generated by accepting deposits that exceeded the treatment capacity.
It is an internal document of the town obtained by STV.
The town has accepted more than double the processing capacity of 3,000 tons of deposits for at least four years.
A former subordinate of Deputy Mayor Ogawa says that illegal dumping has been repeated for some time.
(Male subordinate) “I’m not serious about residual water (sewage) that I have nowhere to go. I didn’t think about how to deal with it or how to deal with it, and I was doing a random job. think”
I hit the deputy mayor directly when the illegal dumping had been done.
(Reporter) “Are you Deputy Mayor Ogawa? STV. Did you do it all the time if there was no report from the townspeople?”
(Deputy Mayor Hideki Ogawa, who was sent the documents) “I don’t think it is.”
(Reporter) “Why can you say so?”
(Deputy Mayor Hideki Ogawa, who was sent the documents) “Because the facility was supposed to be improved by the end of this year.”
(Reporter) “Did you know that the smell is terrible?”
(Deputy Mayor Hideki Ogawa, who was sent the documents) “The smell is strong because it is waste that I knew for a long time.
(Reporter) “Why did you throw it in the forest?”
(Deputy Mayor Hideki Ogawa, who was sent the documents) “Because it is under investigation …”
(Reporter) “About the fact that illegal dumping was done”
(Hiroki Fujiwara, Chief of Industrial Tourism Division, who was sent the documents) “So I can’t say it because I’m investigating.”
(Reporter) “Have you ever instructed your subordinates?”
(Hiroki Fujiwara, Chief of Industrial Tourism Division, who was sent the documents) “I can’t talk.”
On the Toyoura Town homepage, there is a text that says “Illegal dumping is a crime.”
(Townsman) “It’s very disappointing. (Scallops) are important because they are a specialty. It’s a living resource.”
(Mayor Yoichi Murai, Toyoura Town) “We had to give thorough guidance on how to land the fish according to its processing capacity. We apologize for causing such an incident.”
Illegal dumping in Toyoura Town, a scallop gusset, threatening the rich nature.
All seven have admitted to the investigation.