Open coal yard in Naga not part of ECC

An open coal yard in the premises of the Korean Electric Power Corp.-Salcon Power Corp. (Kepco-SPC) in Naga was the source of the coal dust pollution that bothered several households.

Only a closed, tight storage for coal deliveries was approved in the company’s Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC), said Engr. William Cuñado, environmental impact assessment management division chief of the Environmental Management Bureau in Central Visyas.

Last Tuesday, EMB-7 staff inspected the company’s coal yard . Results have yet to be released.

Engr. Mar Tabuco, EMB 7 pollution control division chief, said the open yard was a proposed expansion of the company’s coal storage facilities.

“They must secure an amendment for an ECC for the expanded additional coal facilities that they will be operating,” Tabuco told Cebu Daily News in a phone interview

A cease and desist order issued by Naga City Mayor Valdemar Chiong was lifted the other day after Kepco-SPC submitted an action plan to to resolve the complaints of residents .

They were given one month to complete a proposal to enlcose the open yard following a meeting with Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia.

Coal stocks accumulated in the open yard when one of the two 100-megawatt plants was shut down for preventive maintenance.

The excess stocks and strong winds were cited by the management as the cause of the coal dust pollution.

Kepco-SPC general manager Victorio Naval said the complaints were an “isolated case.”

Rodien Paca, President of Naganian Awareness Against Pollution (NAAPA), who earlier called attention to the complaints of Naga residents which led to the mayor’s freeze order, said they noticed the company was operating an open coal yard situated behind its closed storage site.

With this, Paca said the problem of coal dust entering their houses would just recur.

Cuñado said they will investigate the open yard to check it against the conditions of the ECC. Correspondent Joy Cherry S. Quito