DENR rejects Cavite sanitary landfill plan

Cavite officials claimed victory yesterday after Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Antonio Cerilles rejected the application for an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) of a private firm for a sanitary landfill in Magallanes town.

Cerilles based his decision on the recommendation of the Environment Management Bureau (EMB) dismissing the ECC application of the Eurasian Company for Waste and Environment Services.

EMB director Peter Anthony Abaya said the firm failed in the environmental impact assessment due to several reasons, foremost of which is the fact that the proposed landfill site is within the sub-watershed of the Lian watershed.

Housing and land use guidelines specify that dumpsites shall not be developed closer than 50 meters away from waterways or any surface water resources, aquifers or groundwater reservoirs.

Under the law, watersheds are protected areas off-limits to any form of development.

The EMB also cited the landfill proponent's failure to comply with the comprehensive land use plan and zoning ordinance of the municipality of Magallanes.

The bureau also noted the opposition of Cavite Gov. Ramon Revilla Jr. to the project, and the negative impact it would have on the tourism industry of Cavite, as raised by Tourism Secretary Gemma Cruz-Araneta.

In its report, the EMB took into consideration the recommendation of the Solid Waste Management Action Plan of Metro Manila on three priority sites for landfill development, namely San Marcelino, Zam-bales; Mariveles, Bataan; and Mabitak, Laguna.