By EUGENE ADIONG
BACOLOD City — Four sugar centrals, two ethanol plants and a distillery plant in Negros Occidental lacked permits necessary for their operations, among other violations.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Environment Management Bureau (EMB) found out about this during inspections, said Vicente Losbañes, provincial EMB chief.
Cited for violations were the following:
- Options Sugar Central in Sagay City
- Victorias Milling Company in Victorias City
- Central Azucarera de La Carlota in La Carlota City
- Southern Negros Development Corp. in Kabankalan City
- San Carlos Bioenergy, Inc. in San Carlos City
- Rovson Bioenergy in La Carlota City; and
- VMC Distillery in Manapla town.
Losbañes was invited by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) to its session on Wednesday to shed light on the environmental compliance of sugar mills and distillery and ethanol plants in the province.
With him was Samson Guillergan, EMB Region 6 Pollution Control Division chief.
Losbañes said among the violations of these establishments are lack of permit to discharge wastewater and lack of permit to operate machine. Other violations were minor ones, he later said in a text message.
“We will issue a notice of violation so they will comply with the requirements of the DENR,” he told the SP.
Meanwhile, Losbañes said the EMB is leaving it to the Manapla municipal government to act on the complaints of residents in Brgy. Purisima regarding the foul odor allegedly emitted by VMC Distillery.
He said that, based on their test, wastewater from the distillery is neither toxic nor dangerous to human health.
DENR regulations on the operation of the said establishments do not cover foul odor yet, Losbañes pointed out.
“But foul odor is considered a nuisance,” he stressed./PN
