The Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ (DENR) Environment Management Bureau (EMB) 6 (Western Visayas) will hold public scoping and hearing activities for three major proposed projects in Negros Occidental next month.
The public scoping for the P60 million palm oil plantation of Hacienda Asia Plantations Inc. (HAPI) in Candoni will be held at the municipal covered gymnasium on July 3, while for the poultry farm expansion project of Super Binhi Agri Ventures Inc. in Sagay City, at Barangay Plaridel’s covered court on July 4.
“The public scoping is an early stage in the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process where the proponent aims to provide an overview of the proposed project,” the EMB-6 said in the notices.
During these activities, issues and concerns and other relevant information will be gathered to provide the scope of work and terms of reference for the preparation of the environmental impact statement (EIS).
An EIA is a process for anticipating the effects on the environment caused by a development, while an EIS is the document produced as a result of that process.
The project proponent or EIA consultant prepares and submits an EIS that serves as an application for an environmental compliance certificate (ECC).
“All interested parties, organizations, and agencies are encouraged to provide inputs during the public scoping and public review periods and provide comments to the proponents through their project coordinators,” the EMB-6 said.
After the EMB-6 issued a cease-and-desist order to the quarry operations and other earth-moving activities of HAPI in Candoni last week, Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, who sought the agency’s intervention for the firm’s lack of ECC, said the proponent assured him of their compliance.
“They wrote back and said they will stop earth-moving (activities) and that they will comply with what we requested, especially the ECC,” he added.
The proposed oil palm plantation project covers 6,652 hectares, with sites in the villages of Gatuslao and Agboy, based on the project fact sheet.
In Sagay City, the Super Binhi Poultry Farm is expanding its production capacity from 90,000 heads to 150,000 heads of chicken to enhance profitability, meet market demand, and contribute to the local economy.
The expansion of the existing poultry housing facilities and supporting infrastructure will accommodate an additional 60,000 heads of chicken.
Meanwhile, the public hearing for the P13.846 billion solar power project of Aboitiz Power’s South Cleanergy, Inc. in Cadiz City will be held at Barangay Luna’s covered court on July 10.
The construction of the 171.11-megawatt alternating current (MWac) Luna Solar Power Project on a 180-hectare land will start in the first quarter of 2026 while the target commercial operation is in the fourth quarter of 2027, according to the project timeline.
“The public hearing aims to achieve efficient exchange of information and views between and among the project proponent, the EMB-DENR, relevant agencies, local government units, and other stakeholders on environmental impacts of the proposed project currently applying for ECC,” the EMB-6 said.*PNA