Marcopper ordered not to transfer equipment

Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Angelo Reyes, through the Pollution Adjudication Board (PAB), has directed the Marcopper Mining Corp. to stop transferring any of its equipment beyond the premises of its plant in Sta. Cruz, Marinduque.

This, pending the resolution of the case filed against the mining firm for violation of Presidential Decree 984 or the Pollution Control Law.

Reyes directed the National Anti-Environment Crime Task Force to ensure that all assets and equipment used in Marcopper’s mining operation, including those disposed of or transferred to other entities, are not moved pending an inventory.

A Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) team, headed by Undersecretary Roy Kyamko, deputy chief of the task force, served the PAB’s cease-and-desist order to Marcopper last Tuesday.

Other members of the team were provincial environment officer Danilo Querijero, DENR lawyer Emilio Vidad, and policemen assigned to the task force.

In a report to Reyes, Kyamko said Marcopper had attempted to ship out six truckloads of scrap iron, each truck carrying at least 10 tons.

Kyamko said the municipal government of Sta. Cruz assured the DENR that it would not grant Marcopper any permit to transport its mining materials and would prevent any attempts to do so in coordination with the police, Coast Guard and military.

Reyes directed the department’s Region 4 office to conduct a technical conference with Marcopper within seven days on the fines that could be imposed on the company covering the period of violation from March 24, 1996 to Aug. 31, 1997.

Under PD 984, an entity found violating orders or regulations on "the control or abatement of pollution" shall pay a fine not exceeding P5,000 for every day during which such a violation or default continues.

DENR records show that the PAB issued the cease-and-desist order against Marcopper for discharging mine tailings into the Boac River, contaminating it with high concentrations of heavy metals like cadmium, dissolved copper and lead.

The mine spills also affected the Makulapnit and Mogpog rivers, depriving hundreds of fishermen of their livelihood and posing risks to the health of residents.