by Myrna Velasco September 23, 2016
The Semirara Mining and Power
Corporation (SMPC) has been cleared by the Department of Energy (DOE) on
raps against environmental breach on its operations.
A report of the department that was
furnished to SMPC Chief Executive Officer Isidro Consunji noted that “the DOE
audit team verified that the mining operation of SMPC does not discharge toxic
materials to the mangroves.”
Additionally, it was determined that
“the sulfur content of the coal is below 1.0-percent; there is no seaweed farm
affected and the dumping of overburden materials does not affect the nearby
housing communities.”
The clearance bestowed by the DOE
followed the one issued also by the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR) that had been based on the audit of its own team. However, the
DENR field audit still has to be finally verified and adopted by the national
office.
The coal mining of the Consunji-led
SMPC is recurrently spotlighted in controversies – because of some tragedies
also that plagued its operations in the past.
But the recent averment came from no
less than DENR Secretary Regina Lopez, thus, the relevant government agencies
had to deploy teams to scrutinize anew the charges thrown against the company
and its coal mining venture.
The DOE has cited the report of the
Environmental Management Bureau of the DENR that “Semirara was fully in compliance
with its commitments to the community on the island through various programs,
including education and skills training, livelihood, economic empowerment,
inland and mangrove reforestation among others.”
The department similarly emphasized
that the company “is the main employer on the island and has provided its
employees free housing, electricity and water, schools and a brick church.”
The Semirara mine is a major source
of domestic coal utilized in power generation facilities in the country — that calls
for its closure could imperil the country’s electricity supply chain.
That then prompted the energy
department to step into the issue and also supported calls for audit of the
company’s operations.
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