MORE than 300 industrial and commercial firms in Central Visayas were issued a notice of violation by the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)-7.
The companies were found to have violated the Clean Air Act (CAA) and the Clean Water Act (CWA).
According to EMB-7 planning officer Jose Alfonso Casurra, 178 firms have violated provisions of the CWA while 163 violated provisions of the CAA.
Casurra also revealed that of the 951 establishments monitored by EMB-7, 282 operated with generator sets that had no permits.
236 firms were also found to be operating waste water treatment facilities without a permit from DENR. Most of these firms are located in Cebu.
Because of the violations, Casurra said that the establishments were given 90 days to comply with the permits.
Penalties ranging from P10,000 to P200,000 were also imposed against the firms.
“Generator sets operated by industrial and commercial firms should acquire a permit from us. Likewise, we have to make sure that waste water treatment facilities of malls and manufacturing companies have passed our standard,” Casurra said.
Casurra warned that if the firms fail to comply with the permits within the given period, charges will be filed against them before the Pollution Adjudication Board (PAB).