EPA Head sent on leave

Dr Vincent Adams
Dr Vincent Adams

Environmental Protection Agency Director Dr.Vincent Adams was today sent on immediate leave.

“I received a letter to proceed on vacation since I had 128 days outstanding. The records in Human Resource states I am entitled to 77 days,” Adams told Stabroek News.

Adams’ contract was signed in August of 2018 for a five-year period and he had emphasized that he wanted to boost oversight capacity, especially in the oil and gas sector before leaving, as he did not intend to restart a career there.

An environmental engineer and career former energy specialist with the United States’ Department of Energy received letters, Adams was pivotal in getting oil giant ExxonMobil to commit insurance liability in the event of a spill here.

 The directive to proceed on leave comes on the heels of his agency’s firm stance against the approvals of ExxonMobil’s Payara project and a decision to take the oil major to count over unpaid fines for two spills of hydraulic fluid.

This newspaper was told that it was the EPA that raised concerns about the company dumping reservoir water into the Guyana’s ocean waters, tightening the language that provides for flaring offshore and ensuring that oil spill measures are sound.