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ENVIRONMENT Secretary Lito Atienza issued an order
virtually clipping the power of the Laguna Lake
Development Authority (LLDA) in overseeing the
implementation of the environmental impact statement (IES)
system, as well as the issuance of all environmental
compliance certificates (ECC) for development projects
within Laguna de Bay.
Atienza
signed late Tuesday afternoon Administrative Order
2008-11, transferring the authority to issue ECCs from
LLDA to the Environment Management Bureau (EMB) as part
of the continuing effort of the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to rationalize
and streamline the implementation of the EIS system.
With the
order, the EIS and the ECC will now be processed by the
regional offices of the EMB.
To beef
up EMB’s efforts, Atienza designated Juan Miguel Cuna,
acting assistant secretary for legal affairs, to
supervise and examine the process of issuing ECCs. He
directed Cuna to cut any red tape and ensure the smooth
flow of processing of ECC applications.
“I am
delegating to EMB regional offices the mandate to grant
or deny ECCs covering development projects within the
Laguna de Bay region so
that the LLDA could concentrate on efforts that will
hasten the clean up and rehabilitation of the Laguna de
Bay,” Atienza said.
Atienza
added that the clean up of Laguna de Bay, particularly
of fish pens, is very critical not only to the lake’s
rehabilitation but also to other water bodies in the
metropolis like the Pasig River.
Aside
from the ECC, Atienza also transferred to the EMB
regional offices the authority to process and issue
certificates of non-coverage to projects that are
exempted from coverage of the EIS System.
The EIS
System was established by law to facilitate the
attainment and maintenance of a rational and orderly
balance between socio-economic growth and environmental
protection.
Under
the system, the ECC is required for all environmentally
critical projects and projects within environmentally
critical areas.
Prior to
the issuance of the ECC, project proponents are required
to undertake an environmental impact assessment (EIA) to
determine possible adverse environmental impacts of
their proposed projects or activities and to come up
with measures or strategies to reduce such impacts on
the environment. |
