Bioethanol plant’s request to resume operation denied

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The request of the San Carlos Bioenergy Inc. to resume its operation was rejected by the local government unit.

Mayor Renato Gustilo led the inspection Feb. 22 of the SCBI’s pond facility and storage for waste water.

Gustilo said that he will not grant the company’s request unless they treat and drain their ponds of liquid waste, which already spilled on the coastal areas of San Carlos City.

An aerial photo of Barangay 1 in San Carlos City, which is affected of waste discharges from the SCBI plant | San Carlos DRRMO Photo

Past experiences of effluents and untreated waste water from industrial firms like the Victorias Milling Company-owned alcohol distillery in Manapla and the Distileria Bago Inc. of Ginebra, that were released along coastal areas, rivers, creeks and other waterways had caused massive fishkill and consequent deterioration of marine ecosystem.

Gustilo, in a statement posted on the San Carlos LGU Information Facebook page, said that the SCBI’s holding storage pond is already full of liquid wastes.

Engr. Arthur Batomalaque, senior environment management specialist of the City Environment Management Office, said that the bioethanol plant has a 16-hectare pond that holds between 700 and 1,000 cubic meters of daily effluents.

The SCBI, which started operation in 2008, is the first regenerative combined cycle power plant in Asia using sugarcane.

It produces 42 million liters of bioethanol annually and eight megawatts of electricity.

Gustilo, who ordered its temporary SCBI shutdown on Feb. 19, issued a warning that he will recommend to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to issue a cease-and-desist order against the firm if it fails to settle its violations. – GB