Abra congressman urges DENR to act on Lepanto’s toxic mining effluent 06-01-08

	NORDIS WEEKLY January 8, 2006
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Abra congressman urges DENR to act on Lepanto’s toxic mining effluent
BAGUIO CITY (Dec. 26) — Congressman Luis Bersamin Jr. urged Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Mines and Geo-sciences Bureau (DENR-MGB) Cordillera Regional Director Neoman de la Cruz to act upon the studies made by the Save the Abra River Movement (STARM) on the mining effluents of Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company. Bersamin stressed that MGB should call the attention of Lepanto otherwise the Abra representatives would be obliged to call for a congressional inquiry on the matter. He also vowed to support an environmental awareness campaign among the barangays of Abra along the said river. In a meeting with STARM Spokesperson Dr. Ana Marie Leung on December 15, Bersamin expressed his concern for the pollution caused by Lepanto’s mining operations along the Abra River. The Congressman was informed of the adverse effects of Lepanto’s almost seventy years of operation on the water quality, agricultural production and health of communities in the municipalities of Mankayan, Benguet, Cervantes and Quirino, Ilocos Sur, and possibly extending to Abra. He also recalled reports of fish kills in Tubo and Manabo, Abra. The latest studies on the Abra River system as documented by the Saint Louis University and the University of the Philippines Baguio were submitted by STARM to the MGB last 29 September 2005. In a response letter to STARM this December, MGB admitted that “the river condition from 900L downstream to TD5A (Tailings Dam 5A) is being adversely affected by the CIP (Carbon-in-Pulp) mill discharge and the acidic underground water.” Moreover, MGB Director de la Cruz in his letter to STARM disclosed that there are already two cases filed against Lepanto at the Pollution and Adjudication Board (PAB). The first case is for exceeding the cyanide concentration as monitored by the Multi-Partite monitoring team during the first quarter of 2004. The second case is for the high total of dissolved solid (TDS) loads of Lepanto’s mining effluent monitored on the fourth quarter of 2004. These admissions corroborate the results of STARM’s Environmental Investigatory Missions, which documented the high acidity, total dissolved solids and cyanide content of Lepanto’s mining effluents in October 2004. STARM’s latest finding in February 2005 show that the pollution continued beyond 2004. # via NORDIS Post your comments, reactions to this article
Home \| Back to top	Previous \| Next

	NORDIS WEEKLY January 8, 2006
Home \| To bottom	Previous \| Next
Abra congressman urges DENR to act on Lepanto’s toxic mining effluent
BAGUIO CITY (Dec. 26) — Congressman Luis Bersamin Jr. urged Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Mines and Geo-sciences Bureau (DENR-MGB) Cordillera Regional Director Neoman de la Cruz to act upon the studies made by the Save the Abra River Movement (STARM) on the mining effluents of Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company. Bersamin stressed that MGB should call the attention of Lepanto otherwise the Abra representatives would be obliged to call for a congressional inquiry on the matter. He also vowed to support an environmental awareness campaign among the barangays of Abra along the said river. In a meeting with STARM Spokesperson Dr. Ana Marie Leung on December 15, Bersamin expressed his concern for the pollution caused by Lepanto’s mining operations along the Abra River. The Congressman was informed of the adverse effects of Lepanto’s almost seventy years of operation on the water quality, agricultural production and health of communities in the municipalities of Mankayan, Benguet, Cervantes and Quirino, Ilocos Sur, and possibly extending to Abra. He also recalled reports of fish kills in Tubo and Manabo, Abra. The latest studies on the Abra River system as documented by the Saint Louis University and the University of the Philippines Baguio were submitted by STARM to the MGB last 29 September 2005. In a response letter to STARM this December, MGB admitted that “the river condition from 900L downstream to TD5A (Tailings Dam 5A) is being adversely affected by the CIP (Carbon-in-Pulp) mill discharge and the acidic underground water.” Moreover, MGB Director de la Cruz in his letter to STARM disclosed that there are already two cases filed against Lepanto at the Pollution and Adjudication Board (PAB). The first case is for exceeding the cyanide concentration as monitored by the Multi-Partite monitoring team during the first quarter of 2004. The second case is for the high total of dissolved solid (TDS) loads of Lepanto’s mining effluent monitored on the fourth quarter of 2004. These admissions corroborate the results of STARM’s Environmental Investigatory Missions, which documented the high acidity, total dissolved solids and cyanide content of Lepanto’s mining effluents in October 2004. STARM’s latest finding in February 2005 show that the pollution continued beyond 2004. # via NORDIS Post your comments, reactions to this article
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