The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said the bidding for the dredging of the Naboc River has not started yet as it is still in the process of finalizing its terms of references.
The call for possible stakeholders and the dredging operation itself can only begin after the environment agency finalizes all aspect of the project as per Chamberlain J. Babiera, the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer of Compostela Valley.
“The activity is not merely the extraction of sand and gravel, per se, but involves the extraction of chemicals and other minerals therefrom, thereby cleaning the river of the hazardous or pollutant materials,” Babierba said in a Business Mirror report.
Naboc River serves is the main water channel of Diwalwal, Monkayo, Compostela Valley where gold mining and processing is practiced. This resulted in the river becoming the disposal site for toxic mines tailing laden with mercury and cyanide.
With this, the DENR has ordered the closing of more than 300 operators and plant owners of 1,797 ball mills and 31 carbon in-pulp processors in the area and its transfer to a new government designated processing area in Sitio Mabatas.
The said cease and desist (CDO) was only served for finality last March 15, however, the transfer which would take several days or even months has started even before said date.
As another measure, the DENR has formed compliance monitoring teams which will conduct the compliance of plant owners and also for either the DENR Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) or the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) proper filing of cases to those who will defy the CDO.
“So far the report of the compliance monitor of CMTs show that only four out of the more than 300 individual plant owners served with CDO have been found to be noncompliant. There is an ongoing case build up so that proper information can be filed at the proper court, initiated by the issuing office, DENR-MGB and EMB,” Babiera said.
Compliance of miners and plant owners favors the authorities’ initiative as the dredging would proceed once the pollutants or the polluting plants are all transferred and the bidding is done.
Plans of structural and vegetative measures would be applied during maintenance and rehabilitation of Naboc River and may also include “riverbanks rehabilitation and protection and planting of agro-fruit-forest trees to benefit the local community.”
