The Universal Robina Corporation (URC) Distillery in Bais City, Negros Oriental, has been allowed to temporarily operate at 60 to 70 percent of its capacity after a huge volume of its spent wash spilled into the Tañon Strait in October last year.
The Pollution Adjudication Board granted a temporary lifting order that has allowed the distillery to operate for three months starting December, Department of Environment and Natural Resources Negros Island Region Director Charlie Fabre said on Monday, March 30.
The distillery produces ethanol from molasses.
The three-month permit to operate expires this March, and URC is requesting for an extension of the temporary lifting order, he said.
URC’s operation was suspended last year after a large volume of its spent wash spilled following the collapse of part of its containment lagoon.
The complaint against the URC for violating the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System Law, for its containment lagoon operating without clearance from the Protected Area Management Board and causing pollution, is still pending with the Prosecutor’s Office of Bais, Fabre said.
URC has asked for a 14-day extension to submit its reply, Fabre added.*
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