Landfill rehab starts soon

Following the approval of the P52.4-million budget to cover expenses in the rehabilitation of the Inayawan Sanitary Landfill, work on the post-closure rehab of the facility is set to happen soon.

This, after the Cebu City Environmental and Natural Resources Office (CCENRO) furnished the City Council with a copy of the Terms of Reference (TOR) on the preparation of a closure and rehabilitation plan for the landfill it had submitted to the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB)-Central Visayas last April 5.

A copy of the document was sought by the council after it approved during the regular session last Sept. 5 the budget for the rehabilitation of the facility.

The TOR was prepared by CCENRO Head Nida Cabrera and approved by Mayor Tomas Osmeña.

The document was used by Cebu City’s Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) in securing a service provider to formulate the closure and rehabilitation plan.

Aside from the TOR, CCENRO also furnished the council with a copy of the compliance report for the landfill for August it has submitted to EMB last Sept. 5.

The submission of the monthly report was one of the directives the Court of Appeals (CA) Special 19th Division gave, so that the EMB can regularly monitor if the City Government has been strictly complying with the court’s order and if the latter has continued the rehabilitation of the landfill.

In its 25-page decision last Dec. 15, the CA ordered the mayor to permanently cease and desist from dumping garbage or solid waste at the facility, until rehabilitation has been made. /