Insurance coverage for the planned US$900 million gas to energy project will be dependent on the findings of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) should the project be approved, Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Kemraj Parsram has said.
During the recently held scoping meetings, several persons raised concerns about insurance coverage and Parsram had stated that consideration for financial coverage will be included in the environmental permit if environmental authorisation is given.
Parsram told Stabroek News on Thursday that the Environmental Protection Act provides for financial assurance under Section 32, and also compensation should something drastic occur. With that in mind, the EPA has also asked that a social impact assessment be done to determine the amount of people who may be affected by any potential impaction so that compensation for such would be considered if the project is given approval.
However, he said the level of insurance required will have to be guided by the scale of impacts, which can only be determined after the EIA process is completed. “So there are people who may be impacted and if they are, they need to be compensated,” he said.
Parsram pointed out that there are several stages that each project has to undergo before the EPA gives its approval and the public will have a chance to once again raise their concerns after the developer publishes the EIA.
The EIA process is still yet to commence, according to Parsram, as the Terms of Scope (ToS) for its conduct is still being developed. He stated that they are compiling all the relevant submissions that were made during the scoping meetings, in addition to the ones that were sent to Agency.
Asked to provide a timeline by which the ToS should be completed, Parsram said that he hopes that it can be done by the end of this week.
He stated that the ToS will be outlined when the EIA report is published so that persons can see what the EIA has produced based on the ToS.
A series of public scoping meetings intended to help craft the terms of scope for the EIA’s conduct had been held last month after ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) and its co-venturers applied to the EPA for environmental authorisation to construct and operate an offshore and onshore pipeline, a natural- gas process plant, and a temporary materials offloading facility. After screening the application, the EPA had determined that an EIA was required. Parsram said that the potential impact of the project is not yet known, hence the requirement of an EIA.
At least five to six recommendations were submitted for consideration to the EPA. Some of the submissions have the signatures of multiple persons.
Additionally, residents were informed that the project site will be located 11 kilometers from Patentia and will be at least one to two miles inland from the Demerara River.
The project is expected to begin operations in 2024 with construction expected to commence by mid-2022. In a public notice, the EPA stated that the project, with attendant onshore and offshore components, could have possible effects on the environment, including impacts to marine water quality, air quality, marine and terrestrial flora and fauna, and socio-economic resources, among others.
As a result, it has determined that an EIA must be undertaken before an environmental permit is issued.
The planned government-owned power plant is not included in the scope of the project’s application, except for its consideration when addressing cumulative impacts for the project.
EEPGL will pay for the environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) and other studies. It has selected the consultants for the project since, according to this country’s current EPA Act, the contractor has to choose the consultant from an EPA-approved list of persons.
