Mangroves dying, springs clogged

Dying  mangroves, a blocked spring, poorly installed plastic lining and thin filling materials were among the violations of environment rules noted in Cebu province’s coal ash pond project in the Balili property in Naga City.

William Cuñado, chief of the Environmental Impact Assessment Monitoring Division, questioned why engineers sealed the property’s pond C though springs, where residents sourced water for drinking and other purposes welled underneath.

Water in the sealed pond  became stagnant,  affecting marine biodiversity, Cuñado said.

“They didn’t cut the mangroves, but they still killed these.”

Failure to protect the spring violated the project’s Impact Management Plan fo a “sanitary landfill,” Cuñado said.

“The design needs to be changed to protect the spring,” Cuñado told engineer Josviminda Singson of the Cebu Provincial Planning Office.

High-density polyethylene (HDPE) or plastic lining was not properly installed in the 4,752-square meter pond that the Capitol declared ready to receive  coal ash waste.

Pond filling materials like limestone and bentonite clay was only 3.1 meters instead of  5 meters thick as required.

Cuñado, other environment officials and provincial government representatives yesterday inspected the 23.3-hectare property where the provincial government wants to store  coal ash waste from Korean Electric Power Corp. – Salcon Power Corp.

The inspection followed the department’s issuance of a notice of violation issued against Capitol last June 30.

Cuñado said he would report his findings to  EMB-7 chief Allan Arranguez today. They will  decide if the justifications of Capitol engineers are valid and the notice of violation can be lifted.

The environment court headed by Mandaue Regional Trial Court  Judge Marilyn Ligura Yap will also inspect the area on July 29 to assess if it is ready to receive  coal ash waste.

The judge issued a Temporary Environmental Protection Order on the property.

Singson said the pond was filled with 0.3 meters of gravel then covered with limestone and plastic sheets.

Gravel filling was reduced to .25 meters thick after compression using heavy equipment.

Singson said the pond can accommodate 9,000 square meters of coal ash waste.

But springs bubbling in in the pond will prevent the plastic from sticking to the landfill wall, she said.

The Capitol intends to move the mangroves to the proposed eco-zone in the property, where a mangrove forest thrives, said Adolfo Quiroga, chief development officer.

Quiroga said they plan to limit the number of ash ponds to three instead of four.

Only 20 percent of 200 projected tons of coal ash waste would be dumped in the pond since 80 percent would be bought by two cement companies operating nearby, he said. /Reporter Candeze R. Mongaya