The Bermudez Tannery which is the largest company in tanning and exportors of hides, has received a provisional order to shut down its factory from the Environment Prosecutor.  The Bermudez company has been the market leader in the Dominican Republic for over thirty years and is the first in the manufacturing of hides for footwear.

The order to close was sanctioned after the Environment Prosecutor, Jacinto Mejia received complaints from the Santiago Aqueduct and Sewage System Corporation.  They reported that Bermudez Tannery was contaminating the River, Yaque del Nortes waters from it's treatment plant.

The company has received a restrictive measure in addition to closing the company and operations manager Manuel Cerda will have to post a 200,000 RD$ bond.

The company has been accused of dumping waste into the river and thus polluting the main waters around Santiago affecting the general population of Dominicans living there.

The tannery does own a treatment plant but obviously it has not been working properly and now must pay the consequences.  For many years residents of the communtiy just across the road from the plant have complained to local authorities about strong stenches eminating from the plant.

The tannery belongs to the famous Bermudez family famed for their Bermudez rum on the island.