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Tuesday, December 27, 2005
No more extension on Irisan dumpsite conversion: environment office
THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will not anymore grant an extension to the City Government of Baguio should it fail to comply anew with the need to convert the Irisan open dumpsite into a controlled dump facility come February 2006.
DENR Regional Executive Director Samuel Peñafiel said Monday only Congress could issue an extension to local government units (LGUs) to comply with the mandate of Republic Act (RA) 9003 or the Solid Waste Management Act.
But with barely two months left before the dumpsite's conversion, Peñafiel said the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC) has prepared an engineering plan that would allow the continuous use of the Irisan dumpsite while the city is in the process of closing the area.
He said the plan is similar to the design done by the technical working group under the City Solid Waste Management Board (CSWMB) but with some modifications and at a lesser cost.
"While the DENR is firm in implementing the law, we will also help the LGU. This is a win-win solution," Peñafiel said as he clarified that the city could not proceed directly in using a sanitary landfill without first converting the existing dumpsite.
"The City Government could not just close then abandon the area (Irisan dumpsite)," he said, stressing that conversion entails a detailed engineering plan to ensure that no landslides and burning would occur.
With its high methane gas content, combustion at the site is highly probable, the DENR official said.
Conversion of open dumpsites, establishment of materials recovery facilities, creation of CSWMB and enactment of an ordinance containing the solid waste management plan of an LGU and the put-up of a sanitary landfill are some of the requirements mandated under RA 9003.
Except for the conversion and identification of a landfill, Peñafiel said the City Government already complied with other requirements.
In other parts of the region, only the municipality of Conner in Apayao has yet to comply while officials of Banaue, Ifugao were also notified to follow proper garbage disposal being a tourist destination area. (RO)
(December 27, 2005 issue)
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