CITY OF SAN FERNANDO The Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) has approved the municipal ordinance that requires steel plants to modernize their equipment.
San Simon Municipal Ordinance No. ‘23-003, also called the Strengthening the Modernization of Smelting Metal Scrap Ordinance, got the provincial board approval on Monday, March 6.
Vice Mayor Romanoel “Dading” Santos of said town stressed that the ordinance did not get any objection from the SP members and representatives from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) who were also present during the session.
This means that the ordinance is consistent with the environmental laws implemented by the national government, said Santos.
The vice mayor cited a section in the ordinance which banned the use of induction furnaces on smelting plants in town.
Induction furnace is where steel plants melt and form metals or steel billets to make steel bars.
According to the ordinance, the ban on the said methodology will let steel plants upgrade to modern production machinery attuned to environment-protective technology.
“Sa national government laws, wala naman particularly nagsasabi na pwedeng gumamit ng induction furnaces kaya pwede natin itong i-ban lalo na at may strong reason kami dito sa San Simon na posibleng ito ang cause ng pollution at health problems sa mga resident,” he said.
Aside from the ban on induction furnace, the ordinance also require steel plants in town to upgrade their anti-pollution control devices and install CCTV cameras for easier monitoring.
Santos said San Simon is the first municipality in the country to implement such measures.
The vice mayor added that he received information that it may be replicated by other local government units in the country.
“During the session, napag-usapan din na pwede itong i-adopt sa ibang lugar sa Pilipinas, lalo na dun sa mga areas na considered industrial zone o marami rin mga pabrika,” Santos said.