While he supports gas from Exxon’s wells being brought onshore for domestic use, former Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Dr Vincent Adams says that a rigid Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) must be undertaken and he called on the public to “actively participate” when it is initiated.
“For a project of that magnitude, an EIA must be done…has to be done. Absolutely! There is no going around that. It’s not only about the pipeline but also the onshore operations to refine and distribute the gas which pose high risk to the air, water and soil, and must be mitigated in the plan,” Adams told Stabroek News in a telephone interview from the United States.
“A seismic activity study of the area must be done as part of the EIA to fully understand the risk of seismic activities such as earthquakes, ocean floor mudslides, and volcanoes, which could rupture the pipeline and cause an ecological disaster and threat to the fishing industry,” he added.
