San Carlos City Mayor Renato Gustilo confirmed today, February 23, that he rejected the request of San Carlos Bioenergy, Inc. (SCBI) to resume its operation after he inspected the waste water storage of the bioethanol plant yesterday.
Gustilo said he will not grant their request unless they drain their ponds of spent wash after he saw that their holding ponds are full of said liquid waste which already spilled along the coastal area of the city.
Engr. Arthur Batomalaque, Senior Environment Management Specialist of the City Environment Management Office said that the bioethanol plant has a 16-hectare pond that holds its 700 to 1,000 cubic meter of daily effluent.
He added that representative of the SCBI has set another appointment with Mayor Gustilo today, February 23, to talk about the issue.
The plant was temporarily shut down upon the order of Gustilo last Feb. 19, 2021 with a warning that he will recommend for the issuance of a cease-and-desist order to the Environmental Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources should they fail to settle said violations.
The SCBI which started operation in 2008 is the first regenerative combined cycle power plant in Asia using sugar cane that produces 42 million liters of bioethanol per annum and 8 megawatt of electricity from sugar cane.
