• THERESA MAE DULMAN
The Environmental Management Bureau-Negros Island Region issued a Notice of Violation (NOV) to the Bacolod city government following inspections conducted at the sanitary landfill in Barangay Felisa.
The city government was cited for violation of Republic Act 9275, or the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004.
The regulatory action stemmed from inspections conducted July 9 and 20, in the upstream, midstream, and downstream waterways near the landfill.
The agency said it documented accumulated leachate in an earthen canal and a drainage channel carrying runoff toward Cabura Creek, and also identified the drainage canal as serving the active Cell No. 5 construction area.
The upstream findings showed 0.24mg/L ammonia, and 0.71mg/L phosphate, the EMB-NIR said.
Laboratory analysis of water samples taken from the monitoring stations revealed midstream ammonia levels at 1.88 mg/L against the 0.06 mg/L standard, midstream phosphate levels at 1.43 mg/L against the 0.025 mg/L standard, as well as 9.52 mg/L of nitrates, and 135 mg/L of total suspended solids.
The downstream shows 9mg/L of biological oxygen demand, 1.68mg/L of ammonia, and 0.96mg/L of phosphate, the NOV, signed by EMB-NIR OIC regional director, Vicente Losbañes, showed.
During the follow-up inspection July 20, officials determined that leachate in the earthen canal originated from an adjacent leachate pond via an interconnected bypass pipe that had reportedly been condemned, it added.
“We have noticed the pollution for a long time, which is why we filed a complaint,” said Felisa kagawad Melonie Benas, chairperson of the Barangay Sanggunian Committee on Agriculture.
She added that the wells in the area are used by the city’s water district to source water, raising concerns over the protection of groundwater and the community’s water security.
The Negrosanon Initiative for Climate and the Environment has urged for immediate action to address the documented pollution, a transparent monitoring of Cabura Creek and groundwater, public disclosure of environmental compliance records, and a full accounting of the city’s response.
“It is especially concerning that Cell No. 5 has already been operated without an ECC (environmental compliance certificate). Environmental safeguards are not optional requirements. Before the City continues or expands landfill operations, it must first demonstrate that it can comply with environmental laws and protect Cabura Creek and the community’s water sources,” the group added in a press release.
Meanwhile, a public consultation will be conducted this afternoon, Aug. 20, at the Bacolod City Government Center on the city’s ECC application for the landfill’s Cell No. 4, also in Brgy. Felisa. | TMD
