The Department of Environment and Natural Resources Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) in Region 13- Caraga has issued a Notice of Violation to Greenstone Resources Corp. (GRC) for violation of the terms of its Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) and provisions of Republic Act (RA) 9275 or the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004.

The investigation conducted on May 12 by EMB Caraga led by OIC Regional Director Dennis Celestial on Greenstone Resources Corp.’s (GRC) facilities and operations in Mainit, Surigao del Norte showed a crack along the foot of the Tailings Storage Facility 3 (TSF 3) embankment. The heavy flow of the tailings from TSF 3 damaged 25 houses in Bgy. Siana, Mainit in Surigao del Norte, electrical distribution lines and coconut trees. The tailings also crossed the barangay road.

TSF 3 is an old Tailings Storage Facility used by the company’s previous owner.

No casualty was reported on the incident as GRC and the community implemented safety measures. The company also voluntarily reported and stopped its operation.

The EMB report stated that the eroded tailings downstream of the TSF and those that are still inside the facility are exposed and vulnerable to runoff water during heavy downpour anytime of the day and are liable to be washed into the nearest bodies of water.

The report further stated that the risk of polluting Magpayang River and other waterbodies farther downstream is very high because of the volume of unsecured tailings. These tailing materials may still contain chemicals as a result of the mineral processing some time ago therefore it shall be considered as hazardous wastes.

According to the EMB, the said findings were violations of the conditions of GRC’s ECC issued in April 2009, and Section 10.14 of DENR Administrative Order 2014-02 or the Revised Guidelines for Pollution Control Office Accreditation.

The erosion of the sediments in certain areas of Bgy. Siana is a violation of Section 27 of RA 9275 which prohibits “discharging, depositing or causing to be deposited material of any kind directly or indirectly into the water bodies or along the margins of any surface water, where, the same shall be liable to be washed into such surface water, xxx which could cause water pollution or impede natural flow in the water body;” and “discharging, injecting or allowing to seep into the soil or sub-soil any substance in any form that would pollute groundwater.”

Based on its findings, the EMB recommended that the company submit remedial measures to address the immediate needs and impacts of the incident, to determine the volume of the tailings that were displaced from the TSF, and to have a long-term Program with specific period of implementation of rehabilitation and clean-up activities addressing environmental risks and long-term impacts of the incident.

GRC is further recommended to regularly update EMB on the status of the company’s response operations, to conduct regular water sampling at the established sampling stations to monitor closely the extent of contamination, and to conduct a Root-Case- Analysis of the incident.

In a meeting with EMB Caraga, GRC committed to submit its Rehabilitation and Restoration Plan with Ghant Chart to be implemented according to schedule, and to pay the penalty for each violation of the conditions of its ECC pursuant to Presidential Decree 1586, and for every day of violation as provided for in Section 28 of RA 9275. It will also conduct cleaning operations in the area and submit a report on the same.

DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga ordered last week an immediate and thorough investigation of the incident to determine the extent of the environmental damage brought by the failure of the embankment of the Tailings Storage Facility 3 incident which resulted to the flow of tail deposits towards Brgy. Siana.

The DENR investigation covered the factors leading to the incident and its impact on the communities and the environment, as well as the integrity of the tailings facility and safety systems and procedures that the mine has in place.###