By
Jonathan L. Mayuga - July 4, 2017
The Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will continue to monitor the operation
of coal-fired power plants in the country, amid renewed concerns aired by
environmental groups about coal’s potential adverse impact to the environment
and public health.
In a news statement
released on Tuesday, Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu vowed to continue the
DENR’s endeavor to improve air quality as he welcomed the filing of a petition
filed by an environmental group asking the Supreme Court to compel the
government to regulate the operation of coal-fired power plants.
The petition was filed
by the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice, citing the environmental and
health risks brought about the operation of coal-fired power plants.
In particular, the
group wants the DENR and the Department of Energy to strictly regulate
operations of coal-fired power plants, which are currently the country’s main
source of energy. The group added that coal-fired powered plants cause air
pollution and are one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas being
emitted into the atmosphere.
Cimatu vowed to
intensify enforcement of environment law, particularly Republic Act (RA) 8749,
or the Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999, as part of the DENR’s mandate.
Intensive enforcement
will continue to be a tool to be used by the DENR to carry out its mandate to
improve the quality of air we breathe, the DENR chief said.
Cimatu said the DENR,
through its Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), regularly reviews its
policies designed to reduce air pollution and protect human health and the
environment.
Last year a new
National Ambient Air Quality Guideline Value (NAAQGV) for particulate matter
(PM) 2.5 or particle pollution less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter took
effect, he said.
“Pursuant to DENR
Administrative Order [DAO] 2013-13, the NAAQGV for PM2.5 is set at 50
micrograms per cubic meter [µg/Ncm] for an average of 24 hours or short term,
and 25 µg/Ncm for an average of one year or long term, starting from January
2016,” Cimatu said.
PM2.5 is a complex
mixture of extremely small particles and liquid droplets that get into the air.
Once inhaled, these particles can affect the heart and lungs and can cause
serious health problems.
Cimatu said the
establishment of NAAQGV is one of the safeguards put in place pursuant to the
country’s clean-air law to protect the public against air pollution, including
those coming from coal-fired power plants.
“Coal-fired power
plants are allowed, but we need to tell them the limit of their emissions. If
they emit more than what we prescribe them, then we will close their
operations. But if they do pass, they shall be allowed to operate because that
is within the law,” Cimatu said.
Another safeguard,
Cimatu said, is the installation of continuous emission monitoring system
(CEMS), as prescribed under different administrative orders issued in 2007. All
17 operating coal-fired power plants have their respective CEMS. Cimatu said
one of the conditions under the environmental compliance certificate for
power plants is to install CEMS.
DAO 2017-14 requires
the operation proponents to transmit data and images from its CEMS or CCTV to
EMB online information database system to ensure the disclosure of the emission
results.
“Large power plants are
required to install continuous ambient air monitoring within their vicinity.
The EMB has also completed several installations of automatic continuous
ambient air monitoring sites at different categories in general ambient and
roadside ambient monitoring,” Cimatu said.
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