City execs want solution as trash problems mount

By Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY – Proponents of the still elusive engineered sanitary landfill (ESL) project have trained back their sight on the lot originally pinpointed as ESL site located at  the city outskirts in Apugan-Sto. Tomas here after all other options including the erstwhile promising prospect in Ampucao, Itogon, Benguet were ruled out.

Ampucao which for a time showed promise and even came close to being issued an environmental clearance certificate fizzled out after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) thumbed down the choice, the site being a protected area.

Mayor Mauricio Domogan on Wednesday said plans are afoot to reevaluate the Sto. Tomas lot as to its feasibility to host the ESL facility.

            

The site was earlier ruled out after initial evaluations showed that the area would entail huge development costs.

            

But the lack of other options despite countless attempts on the part of the city government to locate a site prompted the proponent to take a second look at the city-owned property.

           

 “If they find it feasible, then the city can start negotiating with the proponents to facilitate the requirements,” the mayor said.

           

 The lot with an area of three hectares was selected as the best option for ESL site in 2009 as it was considered most viable and least costly to develop among the choices studied then by the City Solid Waste Management Board (CSWMB) under then Mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr.  The lot would also not require the city to deal with other local governments in fulfilling the requirement for social acceptance as it is owned by the city.

            

The ESL venture in Ampucao was supposed to be undertaken by a Korean company and is intended to serve Itogon and other Baguio-La Trinidad-Itogon-Sablan-Tuba-Tublay (BLISTT) areas with a funding of $43 million.

The establishment of ESL is one of the long-term solutions eyed by the city government for its waste problem.