Amid sharp criticisms of its handling of the approval process for ExxonMobil’s fourth well development, the EPA yesterday said it complied with the law and had conducted public consultations above and beyond what was expected.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week approved the environmental permit for the Yellowtail well and this was followed two days later by the government approving the production licence. ExxonMobil itself yesterday announced that it had made the final investment decision in favour of the project.
Environmentalists and critics have contended that the EPA did not publish the revised Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) prior to its final decision on the permit. The revised EIA was only published after the permit was approved. The environmentalists have argued that given the reservations that were entered during public hearings over the EIA done by consulting firm, ERM they should have been able to inspect the revised EIA to determine whether their concerns had been taken account of.
