Short on the funding and staff needed to ensure its ability to monitor for compliance, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to hike fees for permits and services from next year, according to Executive Director Dr Vincent Adams, who says it was recently discovered that permits issued for almost 900 operations had expired due to lack of oversight.
The EPA’s current fees, which have not been adjusted for over two decades, have been labelled “chicken feed” by Minister of Finance Winston Jordan, who has urged that the EPA increase them to meet its financial needs.
“I asked for an update on all permits and it was discovered that nearly 900 permits had expired. That means we have nearly 900 operations just ongoing with no oversight. We do not know who is doing what. As you know, we currently have-and have had for the longest-a shortage of staff. We asked for increases in staffing and for the salaries of employees but was told that government doesn’t have and we should be innovative and find ways of meeting that need. We were told too that the fees we charge is chicken feed and needs revising. The funding for 2019 staff has also been cut by half,” Adams told Stabroek News in an interview last week.
