Published January 9, 2017, 10:00 PM By Madelaine B.
Miraflor and Myrna Velasco
The tension between Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and multi-energy firm Petron
Corporation arose as they disagree on the true cause of the ash spill incident
last week that allegedly came from the latter’s coal plant in Limay, Bataan.
The regional office of the
Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) in Central Luzon has ordered Petron Corp.
to stop any activity inside its coal-fired power plant in Limay, Bataan in the
wake of an ash spill that has reportedly caused several residents to fall ill
last week.
It also directed the nearby Petron
Bataan Refinery (PBR) to “stop from dumping newly-generated bottom ash” in the
area while the ash spill incident is being investigated.
But Petron immediately lashed back
at the DENR as it claimed that it was wrongly faulted for the incident.
“Reports of ash spill and tons of ash
found along the coastline of a distant river, which is almost a kilometer away
from our facility, is far from the truth,” the company noted. “Our ash pond is
located within our facility and near our offices. It has the necessary regional
and local permits from the DENR. (Our facility) is surrounded by dikes, and
regularly watered to prevent dispersion”.
Petron added that the ash, accruing
at the pond, had been certified non-hazardous by the DENR itself.
On purpose, the ash is being “used
as raw material for our cement manufacturing plant,” it added.
Petron just recently took full
ownership of the 140-megawatt coal plant that had been primarily serving the
electricity requirements of its Limay refining facility in Bataan.
EMB, a line bureau of the Department
of Environment and Natural Resources, is responsible for implementation of
various environmental laws, rules and regulations, including Presidential
Decree No. 1586 or the law establishing the Environmental Impact Assessment
System that requires an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) to ensure
that a development project will not cause adverse environmental impacts.
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