Davao City Council Denies Endorsement to Hedcor Hydro Projects

Kirjoitettu 3.12.2009, kategoria Polttoaineet, Sekalaista, Uutiset.

Hedcor’s proposed Hydro Electric power projects found no endorsement from the City Council of Davao as the committee on energy and environment crafted a resolution to deny endorsement of the projects of Hedcor situated in Tamugan, Panigan and Suawan rivers.

Despite ECC’s already being issued by the Dept of Env and Natural Resources(DENR) and approval to proceed given by the National Water Resources Board (NWRB), one stumbling block that Hedcor had to face was the Watershed code of the City of Davao that prohibits any development in a designated watershed area. In order to fix that problem the Watershed Code would have to be amended by the Davao City council, which of course as of this posting, is against the said projects.

Despite their non endorsement, the committee also said in their report that they were “not disfavoring hydroelectric power per se, as just like in any development, mitigating measures are the order of the day.”

They pointed also that there were many issues raised against development in the said contested area by Hedcor. Most of the resistance came from the Davao City Water District (DWCD) who objected vehemently to the hydro electric projects and despite concessions being offered by Hedcor for joint use, stood pat on their decision that “joint use” of the river resource is just not feasible.

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