Lafayette seeks lifting of TRO to allow tests on its anti-pollution measures

Lafayette Philippines Inc. has again asked the Pollution Adjudication Board (PAB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to lift its temporary restraining order on the mining company and allow it to test newly-installed anti-pollution remedial measures.

Lafayette chief executive officer Carlos G. Dominguez said the company is urging the PAB and the Mines Rehabilitation and Contingency Fund to verify its full compliance with the remedial measures along with all environmental and safety laws.

"We are no different from a car that cannot be tested for compliance with emission standards unless its engine is started and the car is test-driven. Lifting the temporary restraining order is precisely for the purpose of allowing the plant to operate on a temporary basis so that we could take samples and verify the effectiveness of the remedial measures," he said.

Dominguez said the DENR can then check whether all the necessary measures are in place to prevent a recurrence of the two tailings dam spills that took place in Oct. 2005. The polymetallic plant has since been shut down pending the company’s compliance with six requirements imposed by the DENR’s Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB).

"It can also be verified whether the processing plants have been constructed by our turnkey contractor in accordance with contractual and legal specifications, design parameters, environmental and safety standards and performance guarantees," added Dominguez.

Since its suspension, Lafayette said it has taken various measures such as keeping the events pond or tailings pond at no more than 30 percent full, leaving 70 percent freeboard capacity at all times to accommodate any possible spillage.

"We have raised the height of the tailings dam from 124 to 135 meters above sea level and expanded the tailings dam designed to absorb the highest rainfall of one in 100 years. We have built diversion spillways around the dam to absorb rainwater from the slopes rather than allow them to directly flow to the tailings dam," said Dominguez.

Moreover, the company improved the efficiency of the plant’s detoxification process.

"In the past two months, all processed water and tailings which passed through the processing plant are completely detoxified. We are confident that in the remote possibility there is any spill in the future, any water effluents that would be discharged into the sea water will contain cyanide in any level beyond the DENR safe standard," Dominguez said.