By JEN BAYLON

The Pollution Adjudication Board (PAB) has affirmed the interim cease and desist order (CDO) issued against Binalbagan-Isabela Sugar Company (Biscom) following a molasses spill into the Binalbagan River on April 19.

Wilma Lagance, chief legal officer of the Environmental Management Bureau in Western Visayas (EMB-6), confirmed that the PAB converted the interim CDO into a regular CDO on April 25.

“It was endorsed to the Pollution Adjudication Board. So last April 25, the PAB affirmed the interim CDO of EMB-6,” she stated.

The order strictly prohibits the discharge of water or molasses from the sugar mill into any bodies of water, including rivers.

During a technical conference held on April 25, Biscom committed to resolving the pollution issue.

EMB-6 mandated the company to conduct a total clean-up of the perimeter canal and the affected portion of the Binalbagan River by May 2.

The EMB Monitoring Division will conduct validation to ensure that Biscom fulfills its commitment to the agency.

Lagance clarified that the case is no longer under EMB’s jurisdiction as it has been transferred to the PAB, which will determine and enforce any penalties against Biscom.

As of this writing, Biscom has not filed any motion for a temporary lifting order regarding the CDO.

The molasses spill affected Barangays Canmoros, Progreso, Marina, and San Juan in Negros Occidental’s Binalbagan town on April 19, when extreme heat, reaching around 43 degrees Celsius, caused the rupture of the molasses stockpile pond owned by Biscom.

The molasses overflow reached the river systems of the affected barangays, resulting in fish kills.

The stockpile initially contained approximately 4,980 tons of molasses, but only 2,400 tons remained after the spill./JB, WDJ