DUMAGUETE CITY — The Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Region 7 has released an assessment report of the proposed sanitary landfill in Dumaguete City that dispels the alleged disinformation and misinformation about its supposed negative effects to the residents of two barangays, namely, Candau-ay and Camanjac.
Mayor Felipe Remollo on Monday reported that the site assessment of EMB-7 regional director Engr. William Cunado allays fears of residents in the surrounding areas about the dangers it would pose to their health, lives, and properties.
In the report, the proposed sanitary landfill site in Candau-ay has complied with seven out of 13 parameters, which is more than enough reasons to proceed with the project. Six is the minimal requirement, while the remaining six other parameters will have to wait for an assessment from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB).
Remollo said that even without the results of the six other parameters, the proposed site had already passed the requirements with flying colors.
The first requirement was successfully complied with, that the proposed site had no confined aquifers such as deep wells within one kilometer of the site and that the facility should be a minimum 50 meters away from any potential stream, lake or river.
The proposed site is situated approximately 215 meters away from the nearest surface of water which is the Okoy River-Malaunay spillway downstream.
During field investigation, it was said that the nearest water supply was located in Barangay Camanjac that was more than one kilometer away from the site.
The site also passed the topography, terrain, slope and distance requirements and surrounding lots had been classified as small and medium scale industrial.
Remollo had earlier belied reports the 32 households of the Bloomington housing community were so close to the proposed site.
The mayor said a 1.5-hectare lot owned by the Little Children of the Philippines that was planted with trees was situated nearby, a portion of which was used by homeowners to breed pigs. Adjacent to it was another one-hectare dry river bed that could be planted with bamboo trees as additional buffer.
The EMB team received a letter from the Orphanage-Batang Calabnugan, Inc. represented by Flora Aguit expressing opposition to the proposed sanitary landfill, but the same was situated more than 700 meters away from the site while the requirement was 250 meters from existing or proposed residential, commercial or urban development areas.
The site also passed the requirement that it should not be located within 500 meters of the boundaries of ecologically sensitive areas proclaimed as protected areas under the National Integrated Protected Area System (NIPAS). Tañon Strait was located 10 kilometers away from the proposed site.
The report also said the site was consistent with the current land use classification plan and was not located within three kilometers of the airport; it was about five kilometers from the airport in Sibulan.
Other requirements include being able to accommodate wastes for a period of five years with a provision for expansion.
The proposed site is said to be capable of accommodating garbage for five years and the city government said its lifespan could be extended through proper waste management practices to include segregation at source, waste diversion, recycling, and reuse, among others.
And lastly, it has complied with the haul distance, accessibility and road conditions, the assessment report said.
The six other parameters that have to wait for an MGB report included local geological conditions such as underlying rock formations, to determine if a seismic condition is present in the are; soil properties and availability of cover materials; and vulnerability to flooding which is one of the contentions of those who opposed the project.
Other recommendations include the submission of a safe closure and rehabilitation plan for existing open dumpsite and that prior to the operation of the landfill, it must have an Environmental Compliance Certificate to comply with provisions of Presidential Decree 1586 and Section 38 of Republic Act 9003.
The assessment report is also signed by Engr. Anecita Q. Dinoy, chief, EMED division and John Roy Kyamko, SWM regional coordinator.
Remollo considered the favorable assessment a belated Christmas gift to the city.
The city government is scrambling to build a sanitary landfill to replace the current open dumpsite in Candauay which is the subject of a number of closure orders from the DENR as this type of garbage disposal system has been outlawed. (PNA)
