Provincial Capitol set to lift order against Kepco

CEBU, Philippines - The Capitol is set to permanently lift the cease and desist order it issued to the Korean Electric Power Company-Salcon Power Corp. over coal dust pollution.

Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia ordered Provincial Engineer Eulogio Pelayre to check the Kepco-SPC coal yard if all the mitigating measures have been fully implemented as of the April 30 deadline.

Days before the deadline, Garcia made her inspection of the coal yard and reported finding a big difference then and now.

Garcia yesterday said she doubts if another cease and desist order will be issued after she saw the sincerity of the company in implementing measures to prevent air pollution in the area.

The governor as well as Naga City Mayor Valdemar Chiong earlier issued separate cease and desist orders last March after residents of the area surrounding the plant complained of dust pollution.

But Garcia conditionally lifted the order and the company was allowed to operate again after imposing temporary measures to mitigate the dust pollution, but the company was given until April 30 to implement permanent measures.

Kepco-SPC reported putting the measures in place ahead of schedule.

The company installed steel poles, cyclone wire with wind nets, long-span GI sheets, concrete walls, as well as planted trees as a means to prevent dust pollution.

They also put up seawater pollution control, noise pollution control and air pollution control devices.

Kepco-SPC’s Unit I already provides 100 megawatts of power to the Cebu-Negros-Panay grid since last February 28 amidst opposition coming from different environmental groups.

Unit II, which is also capable of generating 100 megawatts, will be commercially available before the end of next month.

Residents and even KSPC workers complained of coal dust being blown away by strong winds every time fresh coal is unloaded from a ship last March 9.

Meanwhile, Kepco commended the vigilance of Naga City residents even as an official explained that a coal dust cloud seen at the coal yard area last Saturday evening came from the testing of the coal tripper after its repair.

“Controlling coal dusts is both our concern. We, who are most of the time inside the plant get to breathe the dust first before it reaches our nearest neighbor. The vigilance of our hosts in Naga City should keep us on our toes 24/7. And this is for our common good,” said Reinerio Lastimoso, KSPC general manager for Community, Public Relations and Environment.

Lastimoso said that unloading of coal the whole night went on without hitches because of the coal dust control devices in place.

He clarified that the dust cloud reported by some residents of North Poblacion came from the testing of a coal tripper system that has not been working since April 26, 2011.

He said that KSPC’s contractor fixed the tripper last Saturday evening, when they ran the coal unloading system to test if a dust cloud was generated because of some dry coal that had been on the conveyor belt for a few days already.

Lastimoso explained that after the two-minute incident, the unloading of a shipload of coal proceeded smoothly and KSPC would have been the first to stop the unloading had their dust control system failed contending that it would be difficult for them to work with coal dust all around.

KSPC assures that protection of the environment and the health of the people, including its own employees and officials, is a top concern.   (FREEMAN NEWS)