BIOFUELS POLLUTE PHILIPINNE WATER

Biofuel plant may threaten water supply
Cecillia M. Rodriguez, February 2, 2009 (Philippine Daily Inquirer)

"The controversial bioethanol plant to be built within the watershed area here has drawn flak from residents and environmentalists for its potential threat to the city’s main water supply source, as well as destruction to a world-famous tourist attraction.

"Rep. Rufus Rodriguez has asked Congress to investigate the construction of the plant. Specifically, he wanted to know how it was able to secure permission from the city government to build the plant adjacent to the Cagayan River…

"The proposed bioethanol plant is a P2.1-billion project of the Davao-based Alcantara and Sons Consolidated Resources (Alsons) to be built within a 16-hectare property in Barangays Mambuaya and Bayanga. It expects to produce 33 million liters of bioethanol every year."

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"Rodriguez filed House Resolution No. 852 urging the committee on ecology to investigate the project…the city council passed an ordinance reclassifying the land use in Bayanga and Mambuaya from agricultural to agro-industrial to pave the way for the plant’s construction…

"Alsons has defended the project as having complied with the Biofuels Act and adhering to environmental regulations…[lawyer Nanette Royo of Barangay Bayanga, a convenor of the Kagayan Watershed Alliance (Kawal)] described the project as a case of 'good idea, bad location.'"

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"…Alsons will use coal to fuel its boiler for cassava processing, its basic ingredient in biofuel production…Rodriguez agreed with environmentalists when they warned that cyanide, a byproduct of bioethanol, could accidentally spill into the river and kill the city’s only source of life and water. It could also lead to losses amounting to millions of pesos which was spent by the city government to promote white river rafting as a tourism attraction…

Water from Muñigi River, a major tributary of the Cagayan River, will be used by the bioethanol plant and catch chemically treated waste…the plant would not only affect 5,000 households dependent on the river for their daily water needs, but also endanger endemic species thriving in the river.

The Bayanga-Mambuaya watershed still hosts several endangered species like the tarsier, the Brahminny hawk and Philippine eagle and the kasili, pigok and anga fish, said a briefer by the alliance Kawal…[Alsons] was still awaiting the approval of the environmental compliance certificate from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources before they could begin construction..."