NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines - Pollution from a molasses spill caused by the October 26 collapse of a 20-hectare tailing pond at a distillery plant in Bais City, Negros Oriental, has spread further into the Tanon Strait, a disaster that continues to worsen despite ongoing containment efforts.
Vicente Losbañes, director of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) in the Negros Island Region, said on Thursday, October 30, that the contamination continued to expand even as the Philippine Coast Guard and local disaster response groups tried to contain the waste.
"As of Wednesday afternoon, it already spread over 3,000 hectares," he said.
Losbañes said rehabilitation work on the damaged tailing pond of Universal Robina Corporation's (URC) Bais Distillery remained minimal.
"As of Wednesday, too, it's just 5% to 10% based on the report of our EMB-NIR investigating team on the ground," he said.
The tailing pond rehabilitation is crucial to prevent further leakage of molasses wastewater.
Officials said about 90% of the stored waste had already contaminated the strait, triggering fish kills in the shallow coastal waters of Bais and nearby Manjuyod.
Ten barangays in the two towns have reported pollution, water discoloration, and a foul odor caused by the spill.
Tourism activities, including dolphin watching in Bais Bay and sandbar hopping in Manjuyod, have been suspended since Monday, October 27.
Bais City Mayor Luigi Marcel Goñi said this was not the first time the distillery had been involved in such an environmental incident.
"This has been recurring for several years," Goñi said.
He called on URC Bais Distillery not to resume operations until it could implement a "more concrete, reliable, and long-term solution."
The EMB-NIR has issued an interim cease-and-desist order on Monday, October 27, against the company's operations until full repairs are made to the damaged pond.
Losbañes said he requested records from EMB-Central Visayas to determine the company's compliance history.
"As far as I knew, the last time URC Bais Distillery committed the same flaw was only in July this year after the same containment pond had also an overflow of its stored waste water," he said.
Operated by Sugar and Renewables (SURE), the distillery began ethanol production in 2014. In 2017, it started operating a carbon dioxide recovery and liquefaction facility.
Before its acquisition by the Gokongwei group in 1988, the plant was known as the United Planters Sugar Milling Company (UPSUMCO), founded by Negros Oriental sugar planters in 1975. It was later renamed United Robina Sugar Milling Company (URSUMCO) before its conversion into an ethanol plant.
Negros Oriental Governor Manuel "Chaco" Sagarbarria urged vigilance among agencies and residents as the spill continued to spread.
He said the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Division and the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office were coordinating with the Coast Guard, EMB-NIR, and the local governments of Bais and Manjuyod to contain the contamination.
Meanwhile, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said it was closely monitoring the cleanup and rehabilitation work. It added that water quality monitoring, aerial and sea surveillance, pond repair, and scientific assessment were underway.
Losbañes said it was too early to assess the full environmental and economic damage.
"[There is] no assessment yet as to the damage on environment and people's livelihood, considering that the environmental crisis is still ongoing," he said.
Authorities cited recent earthquakes in Visayas and Mindanao, along with heavy rain, as likely factors that weakened the pond structure and led to the spill. - Rappler.com