PB wants copy of Salcon's environmental impact study

Provincial Board member Victor Maambong lashed out at officials of the Environmental Management Bureau for failing to provide the Provincial Capitol with a copy of the Environmental Impact Study of Salcon Power Corporation.

He said he would write EMB Manila for a copy.

EMB-7 failed to provide the PB a copy of the EIS during a public hearing at the legislative building of the Capitol last week.

Maambong, chairman of the committee on environment of the provincial council, had asked for a public hearing to be held at the Capitol legislative building to provide a neutral venue for both the opposition and supporters of the proposed expansion of Salcon's coal-fired power plant in Colon, Naga.

He said the PB wants to determine if the accusations of several environmental groups against Salcon are true and if it has complied with the standards of the environment department. With this, the EIS is important because it would be used as one of the basis if the PB endorsed Salcon's expansion project.

Maambong expects EMB central office to provide him a copy of the EIS before the scheduled public hearing on September 16 or September 22.

During a public hearing last week, where Salcon and Naga town officials failed to attend, Maambong asked EMB-7 director Alan Arranguez to provide the PB with a copy of the environmental impact study of Salcon.

However, Arranguez said his office had no copy, saying that its Manila office issues the EIS directly to companies that apply for it. But Maambong asked why the Manila office would be the one issuing the EIS when EMB-7 has jurisdiction over Salcon, the latter being in the region.

With this, the legislator said he would be drafting an ordinance that would punish a company that fails to provide a copy of its EIS to the municipal or local government, which has jurisdiction over the company's project.

"Even the EMB Manila doesn't provide a copy of the EIS here. I'll be passing an ordinance that would require companies to provide a copy of their EIS to the province especially to the municipality where they are located. There should be maximum penalty to those who violate," Maambong said.

Meanwhile, Naga mayor Ferdinand Chiong yesterday criticized the proponents of the plan to conduct a congressional inquiry on the proposed 200-megawatt coal-fired power plant of Salcon.

Chiong said it is useless to conduct an investigation because the people in Naga have already spoken during the public hearing that they have no objection to the project. Chiong said that conducting an investigation is just a "waste of money."

He said the people who are vocal about the project would not be affected by the project because they are not residents of Naga. The mayor said those who are opposed to the project come from neighboring towns and are members of militant groups.