Who fines pollution in Peru: the municipality, OEFA, or both?

One system, one lead agency, many enforcers

Environmental enforcement in Peru is not in one pair of hands. Ley 29325 sets up a system with several players. Its article 4 says:

“Forman parte del Sistema Nacional de Evaluación y Fiscalización Ambiental: a) El Ministerio del Ambiente (MINAM). b) El Organismo de Evaluación y Fiscalización Ambiental (OEFA). c) Las Entidades de Fiscalización Ambiental, Nacional, Regional o Local.”

(The system is made up of the Environment Ministry, OEFA, and the national, regional or local environmental enforcement bodies.)

OEFA has two roles. It enforces directly, and it leads the system. Article 6 says OEFA “se encarga de la fiscalización, supervisión, evaluación, control y sanción en materia ambiental” (is in charge of environmental oversight, supervision, assessment, control and sanctions) and “es el ente rector del Sistema de Evaluación y Fiscalización Ambiental” (is the lead body of the system).

The other bodies, known as Entidades de Fiscalización Ambiental or EFA, are not OEFA branches. Article 7 says they exercise their powers “con independencia funcional del OEFA” (functionally independent of OEFA), though they must follow the rules OEFA issues as lead body.

What OEFA handles

The law does not contain a closed list of sectors. The list that does exist is the one OEFA publishes on its official gob.pe page. According to that page, OEFA handles complaints about:

• Mining (large and medium).
• Energy (hydrocarbons and electricity).
• Fishing (medium and large aquaculture, and industrial fish processing).
• Manufacturing and domestic trade.
• Agriculture (including genetically modified organisms).
• Environmental consultancies.
• Education.
• Solid-waste infrastructure.

The same page gives examples of complaints OEFA forwards to other bodies: “inadecuada disposición de basura, contaminación por actividades de minería ilegal e informal, inadecuada disposición de residuos hospitalarios” (improper garbage disposal, pollution from illegal and informal mining, improper disposal of hospital waste). In other words, something polluting does not make it an OEFA case.

What belongs to the municipality

The Municipalities Act (Ley 27972) splits environmental functions between the provincial and the district municipality. Article 80 gives the district municipality these exclusive functions:

“3.1. Proveer del servicio de limpieza pública determinando las áreas de acumulación de desechos, rellenos sanitarios y el aprovechamiento industrial de desperdicios. […] 3.4. Fiscalizar y realizar labores de control respecto de la emisión de humos, gases, ruidos y demás elementos contaminantes de la atmósfera y el ambiente.”

(Provide street cleaning, and oversee and control emissions of smoke, gases, noise and other pollutants.)

And the provincial municipality:

“1.1. Regular y controlar el proceso de disposición final de desechos sólidos, líquidos y vertimientos industriales en el ámbito provincial. 1.2. Regular y controlar la emisión de humos, gases, ruidos y demás elementos contaminantes de la atmósfera y el ambiente.”

(Regulate and control final disposal of solid and liquid waste and industrial discharges in the province, and emissions of smoke, gases, noise and other pollutants.)

In practice, a neighbor’s or a bar’s noise, smoke from a local business, or garbage in the street are municipal matters. Read with article 7 of Ley 29325, that places the municipality as a local-level environmental enforcement body. That conclusion is our reading: neither law says it in those words. For noise between neighbors, including the decibel limits by zone, see our guide on noise and neighbor disturbances.

What if it belongs to both?

It happens. One situation can have parts that belong to different bodies. The complaints regulation covers this in article 14:

“14.1 A través de la plataforma informática se deriva la denuncia ambiental a la EFA u órgano de línea u Oficina Desconcentrada del OEFA competente, según corresponda. 14.2 En caso exista más de una EFA competente en determinados extremos de la denuncia ambiental, se deriva la misma en forma simultánea a todas las que resulten competentes.”

(The platform forwards the complaint to the competent body. If more than one body is competent for different parts of it, it goes to all of them at the same time.)

For you, this means you do not need to pick the right body. You file one complaint and the system routes it. What this rule does not say is whether two bodies can sanction the same act; that question is outside this page.

Sinada is gone: it is now the Servicio Nacional de Denuncias Ambientales

For years the channel for complaints was Sinada. That changed in 2026. Resolución de Consejo Directivo N.º 00003-2026-OEFA/CD, published on 13 March 2026, created the Servicio Nacional de Denuncias Ambientales and approved its regulation, in force since 29 May 2026. Its first repealing provision says:

“Primera.- Dejar sin efecto el Servicio de Información Nacional y Denuncias Ambientales - Sinada a partir de la entrada en vigencia del “Reglamento para la gestión de denuncias ambientales a través del Servicio Nacional de Denuncias Ambientales”, aprobado por la presente resolución.”

(Sinada ceases to operate once the new complaints regulation takes effect.)

If you find a rule or a guide that still mentions Sinada, the same resolution says that “toda referencia efectuada en las normas vigentes” (every reference in current rules) to Sinada “se entenderá como efectuada al Servicio Nacional de Denuncias Ambientales” (is to be read as a reference to the new service).

The new service is free, and OEFA and every other environmental enforcement body must use it (article 1 of the resolution).

How to file

Article 6.1 of the regulation says a complaint must be filed “de manera obligatoria, a través de la ventanilla única” (through the single window) of the service, on OEFA’s digital services platform.

According to OEFA’s gob.pe page, your complaint should include a “descripción exacta de los hechos […] indicando fecha, lugar y circunstancias de tales hechos” (an exact description of the facts, with date, place and circumstances). If you have them, add photos, videos, audio or documents, and the name of whoever is responsible or details that identify them.

You have two options (article 5.1 of the regulation):

• Under your name (sin reserva de identidad): you give your details and can be told about follow-up.
• Anonymous (anónima): you give no details. You are responsible for removing your personal data from the evidence you attach. And OEFA’s page warns: “Si realizas una denuncia anónima, no te podrán informar de la atención y seguimiento de tu denuncia.” (If you file anonymously, they cannot inform you of its handling and follow-up.)

When you finish you get a code. With it you can check your complaint and, under article 22, send new information directly to the body that received it.

What this page does not cover

We do not cover the fines OEFA or a municipality can impose, or the sanctioning procedure that follows a complaint. We did not review the regulation’s internal deadlines for forwarding or handling a complaint, or whether two bodies can sanction the same act. We also do not cover the powers of other sector or regional enforcement bodies, or criminal proceedings for environmental offenses.