The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has warned 18 operations that they face closure for failing to adhere to requirements.
In an ad in the Sunday Stabroek yesterday, the EPA listed the operations including hotels, livestock-rearing facilities, sand mines and rice mills, among others, and said that it will be moving to close them for failure to adhere to its Enforcement Notices or uplift finalised Environmental Authorisations.
EPA Executive Director Dr Vincent Adams told Stabroek News yesterday that the agency has tried “ad nauseam” to reach the developers of the projects listed, to no avail. “The companies listed are some that have been ignoring our requests. We will take whatever legal recourse at our disposal, whatever penalty, which may result in them shutting down their operations,” he said.
For most of the operations listed, their environmental permits have expired, while others are operating without a permit, and some have failed to uplift their environmental permits or authorisations.
Companies with expired permits are Blackman and Sons Farm, which operates a swine rearing facility at 55 G North Dam, Garden of Eden, East Bank Demerara; Moti’s Poultry of 37 Block XXIV Garden of Eden; Modern Poultry Farm of Broomfield Village, Corentyne; Good-will Business Enterprises; Connection International Sand Mining of 20 SE Madewini; and Mahendra Narine welding/fabrication workshop of Lot 17 Public Road Airy Hall, Essequibo Coast.
Others include B. Tularam Rice Mill of Tract ‘B’ Belfield, Leguan, Essequibo; Harinaraine and Sons Rice Milling Com-plex of 168 Section ‘B’, Number 67 Village, Corentyne; The Urbayne Oasis Hotel of 24 Public Road, Queenstown, Essequibo; Adam’s Apartment of Sublot BN ½ Lot 64 Norton Street, Lodge; and Wilderness (Interior) Lodge of 49 Seventh Street, Bartica.
Persons and entities that have failed to uplift environmental authorisations are Shivnarine Singh of 26 Delph Street, Campbellville and Fertilizer and Storage Blending of Area ‘K’, Providence, East Bank Demerara.
And failing to uplift their environmental permits are Ashmins Fun Park of Madewini Creek, Soesdyke Highway; Sand and Loam Mine of Rear of Plantation Soesdyke; and Chatarpaul and Omadatt Lall’s Garment Factory of Lot 6 Friendship.
Little Rock Hotel of Lot 10 Main and Church Streets, New Amsterdam, Berbice and Azad Taki Gas Station of Hogsty Village, Corentyne are operating without an environmental permit.
This newspaper contacted owner of Little Rock Hotel, Pearl Christie, and she said that she was unaware of the EPA’s notice but was “preparing some documents to take to them.”
Uplift or renew
The EPA notice said that the developers have until August 9th, 2019 to uplift or renew their environmental permits. It also reminded permit holders that it is illegal under the EPA Act and the Environmental Protection (Authorisations) regulations to operate, construct and or conduct developmental activities without a valid Environmental Permit and/or Authorisation.
Adams told Stabroek News that the EPA is providing an opportunity for developers to get into compliance or face legal recourse.
He said that it was not only illegal, but unfair, to have one group of companies facing penalties for breaches and others continuing to dodge the agency.
“This here is another opportunity for them to cooperate with the agency and follow the law of the land. We have to treat every operator equally. We cannot have some apply and complying with the law and some ignoring. We have been making several attempts to cooperate and they have just been ignoring us. We cannot allow operations to continue to operate illegally. As I have said before, no company is above the law of this country,” he said.
“We are willing to give every company, even those out of compliance, the opportunities to cooperate. As the public would know, we have been working with DDL, Alphonso and Sons Group and others, from the near 900 that are out of compliance and we have been bending over backwards. But those who think they can disrespect the agency will understand the penalties for their actions. We are not going to allow them to operate in that mode,” he added.
The environment chief posited that all developers and potential developers must understand that environmental law adherence is to safeguard the lives of the populace.
“Those defaulters are putting the environmental mode in this country in jeopardy. There is a reason you have environmental permits and you just can’t flout that responsibility. All we are doing is what the agency is charged to do and [we] will not be intimidated or discouraged. This agency will perform its function,” he emphasised.
In February of this year, Adams, who had taken up the position of EPA head late last year, had said that upon his assumption of office and undertaking of an overall analysis of the agency, he was shocked at his findings. He had lamented that he found that not only were there only 97 persons on staff and that the agency cannot provide even basic materials to its employees but that 900 operational permits had expired due to lack of oversight.
