DoE solicits comment on draft coal handling, distribution rules

By Angelica Y. Yang – March 22, 2021 | 9:18 pm
from Business World

THE Department of Energy (DoE) is soliciting comment on its draft department circular covering the rules for coal handling, transport, storage and distribution.

In a notice on its website Friday, the DoE said that it will be accepting proposals or comments until March 31.

Interested parties were invited to send their input via e-mail to the DoE’s Director of Energy Resource Development, Cesar G. Dela Fuente III or the department’s head of the Coal and Nuclear Minerals Division, Nenito C. Jariel, Jr.

The DoE said the draft rules will apply to “all coal traders, logistics service providers, end-users, holders of coal operating contracts and small-scale coal mining permits and all other persons engaged in coal operations.”

Some measures in the draft include ensuring the health and safety of workers, rules for maintaining a coal stockpile, and proper storage of coal to minimize emissions of dust and foul odors, among others.

The rules provide for non-compliant operators to either respond within seven days to a notice of non-compliance or be served a cease-and-desist order.

The notice of non-compliance procedure involves either the issue of a clearance by the DoE to the operator’s answer or the issue of a notice of conference.

“In case of a notice of conference, the concerned DoE Field Office or Energy Resource Development Bureau Director shall preside over the conference to clarify the issues and require submission of additional information,” the DoE said in its draft.

The department will then issue a clearance letter or notice of violation as needed as well as an order of payment if a fine is deemed necessary during the conference.

On its website, the DoE also outlined a 54-item checklist which will be used to gauge compliance among companies with coal operations.