Raps readied vs quarry operator behind fuel leak

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga — Gov. Lito Lapid has ordered the filing of charges for illegal quarrying and mineral theft against a quarry operator whose payloader damaged the Clark-Subic fuel pipeline that caused some one million liters of diesel to leak out in Floridablanca last Saturday.

Rene Sagcal, environmental engineer of Coastal Subic Bay Terminal Co. Inc. (Coastal) which operates the 42.5-mile pipeline, said the damaged portion of the pipeline in the Gumain River in Barangay Consuelo was completely repaired Monday afternoon.

Provincial administrator Benalfre Galang identified the illegal quarry operator as Edna Tan, who allegedly has close "connections" with a ranking police official at Camp Olivas.

Galang, administrator of quarrying projects in Pampanga, said charges of illegal quarrying and mineral theft will be filed against Tan this week.

"We checked our records and found out that she never even applied for a quarrying permit. The area where the (damaged portion of the) pipeline is located is off-limits to quarrying," Galang said.

Sagcal said a special X-ray machine was used to make sure that the puncture in the pipe, measuring two inches by three inches, was fully patched up.

He said Coastal has been coordinating with the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) for the retrieval of diesel-contaminated soil and their transfer to a safe area.

"We don’t have much problem in this since the contaminated soil is retrievable and diesel can dissipate into the air over time," he said.

Sagcal said Coastal experts collected water samples in the site to determine whether the spilled fuel has seeped into the underground water.

Coastal has again started pumping diesel fuel to the depot of its sister-company Clark Coastal Pipeline and Depot Co. Inc. at the Clark special economic zone.

"It appears that environmental damage was not significant, but we have to make sure so we are conducting more tests, particularly on the groundwater," Sagcal said.