WHEREAS, the DENR is the government agency responsible for the management and development of the country ™s environment and natural resources;

WHEREAS, by virtue of a Presidential Memorandum Circular No. 88, Series of 1994, the DENR was made Chairman of Presidential Task Force on Waste Management (PTFWM);

WHEREAS, under Republic Act 7160, otherwise known as the Local Government Code, local government units are responsible for the provision of basic services to their constituents;

WHEREAS, the basic services and facilities; include, but are not limited to general hygiene and sanitation, beautification and solid waste management;

WHEREAS, by virtue of Presidential Decree 1152 and Executive Order No. 192, there is a need to provide technical assistance on municipal solid waste management system in the country;

NOW, THEREFORE, for and in consideration of the above premises and consistent with the provisions of PD 1152, PD 984, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources hereby adopts and promulgates the following guidelines and criteria:

SECTION 1. STATEMENT OF POLICY. It is the declared policy of the Department as provided in the œPhilippines Environmental Code (PD 1152), and the Pollution Control Decree of 1976 (PD 984)  and their implementing rules and regulations, to adopt a System for a Safe and Sanitary Disposal of Waste.

SECTION 2. DEFINITION OF TERMS. As used in and for the purpose of these guidelines, the following terms and phrases shall have the corresponding meaning herein below stated:

Absolute criteria - this sets the minimum requirement(s) that a site must meet for it to be considered.

Conditional criteria - this indicated that a certain site has met the absolute condition/requirements but is still subject to or dependent upon certain additional conditions that can enhance the site selection process but are not exclusionary.

Confined aquifers - an aquifer located between two relatively impermeable layers.

Generation rate - the amount of waste generated, usually expressed as kg/person/day.

Haul distance - the distance a collection vehicle travels from the service area (collection area) to a treatment and/or to the disposal facility.

Impervious - does not allow passage to, or is impermeable

Leachate - liquid contaminated from contact with decomposing wastes containing bacteria and other materials that drain out of dumpsites and landfills.

Liners - act as a low-permeability barrier to eliminate leakage or minimize the rate at which leachate within the waste facility escape into the surrounding environment. Liners may be clayey soils or synthetic materials (e.g., high density polyethylene, or a combination of both).

Liquefaction - the process of making or becoming liquid or the state of being liquid.

Perennial - present at all season of the year.

Permeability - the rate at which a substance can penetrate or pass through a medium (e.g. soil).

Recharge area - a highly permeable region or area that serves as a source of water.

Return period - refers to the time interval when an event is expected to recur.

Sanitary Landfill - a waste disposal site designed, constructed, operated and maintained in a manner that exerts engineering control over significant potential environmental impacts arising from the development and operation of the facility.

Seismic - refers to earth movement or vibration

Sinkholes - a hallow or depression in which drainage collects

Transfer station - a place or facility where wastes are transferred from smaller collection vehicles into larger transport vehicles for transport to the final disposal site.

Topography - the physical configuration of a surface detailing the natural and man-made features, showing their relative position and elevations.

Up-gradient - up-slope or upstream

Visual barriers - refers to natural or man-made barriers used to keep a disposal area visually inaccessible.

Waste characteristics - refer to the properties of the waste stream (e.g., type, physical and chemical composition).

SECTION 3. SCOPE. These guidelines shall apply to all waste disposal sites in the country, be they operated by Local Government Units (LGUs) and/or the private sector.

SECTION 4. LANDFILL SITE IDENTIFICATION AND SCREENING CRITERIA. The following criteria shall be used to identify and screen possible site of Sanitary Landfill:

(1) Area Capability and Availability
(2) Haul Distance and time
(3) Proximity to Sensitive Groundwater Resources
(4) Proximity to Perennial Surface Water
(5) Occurrence of Flooding
(6) Proximity to sensitive Land users
(7) Local Ecological Conditions
(8) Current and Future Land Use
(9) Seismic Condition
(10) Geologic Condition
(11) Soil/Land Condition
(12) Topography
(13) Proximity to Airports

The attached ANNEX A^* provides the details of these guidelines and shall form an integral part of this Order.

SECTION 5. SITE IDENTIFICATION AND SCREENING METHODOLOGY. The sanitary landfill site identification methodology shall be composed of the following steps:

a. data acquisition
b. plotting of excluded areas, identified on the basis of the absolute criteria , in an appropriate map;
c. identification of candidate areas from the map for field survey;
d. site survey and evaluation; and,
e. selection of preferred site

Data can be obtained from existing maps (1:10,000, 1:50,000 or 1:200,000), aerial photographs, site visits and interviews with local officials and residents. The results of the siting process should be presented in the form of an acceptability matrix showing the qualitative evaluation of each site based on the site identification and screening criteria.

The acceptability matrix will aid the local officials in assessing the best site for the proposed landfill and ecological waste management center. The final decision should be approved by the council of elected officials after due public consultation, taking account of both the technical and financial considerations.

SECTION 6. SEPARABILITY CLAUSE. If any section or provision of these guidelines is held or declared unconstitutional or invalid by a complete court, the other section or provisions hereof shall continue to be in force as if the section or provisions so annulled or voided have never been incorporated herein.

SECTION 7. REPEALING CLAUSE. All pertinent guidelines or rules and regulations inconsistent with these guidelines are hereby revised, amended and/or modified accordingly.

SECTION 8. AMENDMENTS. These guidelines may be amended and/or modified from time to time by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

SECTION 9. EFFECTIVITY. these Guidelines shall take effect thirty (30) days after publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Adopted: 29 June 1998

(SGD.) VICTOR O. RAMOS
Secretary
Chairman, Presidential Task force on Waste Management

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^* Text available at Office of the National Administrative Register, U.P. Law Complex, Diliman, Quezon City