THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has started the search for illegally installed sewer lines and removed a PVC pipe used by an erring establishment in El Nido, Palawan, to discharge untreated wastewater out to the beach area.
DENR-Mimaropa Regional Executive Director Henry Adornado ordered the immediate removal of the sewage line which violates provisions of Presidential Decree 1067 or the Water Code of the Philippines. The law prohibits any structure within the easement zones without permission from the government.
“The law is clear, and so was our appeal to everybody to cooperate with us in rehabilitating El Nido. We will continue to implement measures to find out if there are others who are doing the same and continuously disregarding our call to follow the rule of law. We will hold them responsible,” he said in a statement.
The DENR’s Central and Mimaropa Regional offices of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) used ground penetrating radar (GPR) to detect any hidden pipes in El Nido beach resort as part of the ongoing effort to rehabilitate the top tourist destination in the Mimaropa region.
The pipe, measuring 6 inches in diameter and 6 meters in length, was uncovered in front of Outpost Beach Hostel in Barangay Corong-corong.
It was also found discharging black and foul-smelling liquid directly into Bacuit Bay, one of the province’s ecotourism sites undergoing massive rehabilitation.
The regional Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) used a green tracer solution into Outpost Beach Hostel’s last chamber to which the excavated pipe was connected, confirming the source of the polluted waters that flow out from the pipe.
The DENR is conducting further investigation to determine if there are other sources of wastewater discharge aside from the hotel.
Paul Sepulveda, one of the co-owners of Outpost Beach Hostel, admitted that they owned the pipe and volunteered to cut the line although he insisted they have a discharge permit, and the effluent samples taken from their sewage treatment facility passed the water quality guidelines of the DENR.
The establishment was earlier issued a Notice of Violation by the EMB for releasing wastewater exceeding the standards.
Last year, the DENR created Task Force El Nido to spearhead the restoration of the famous island paradise found beset by environmental problems, such as encroachment of easement zones and high coliform levels in Bacuit Bay.
The DENR and the local government unit of El Nido organized several stakeholder meetings to engage residents and business establishment owners in restoring the beauty and cleanliness of the place.
Under the directive of Secretary Roy A. Cimatu, the DENR Mimaropa region vowed to be more aggressive in enforcing the laws.
“We have to remind everyone that we are preparing Bacuit Bay as Water Quality Management Area so we shall be conducting regular water sampling and analysis not only to Outpost Beach Hostel but also to other establishments to ensure they do not discharge untreated wastewater into Bacuit Bay,” EMB Regional Director Michael Drake Matias said for his part.
Besides regular effluent sampling, the DENR and the MGB have been conducting a GPR survey of the coastal areas of El Nido since March 18 to detect buried waste pipelines.
Image credits: DENR-Mimaropa Region Office