Permit holders must get renewals by February month end

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a notice to all holders of Environmental Permits and/or Environmental Authorizations to make all efforts to get their documents renewed no later than February 28.

In an advertisement in the newspapers, the EPA reminded that it is illegal under the EPA Act and the Environmental Regulations 2000, to operate, construct, and/or conduct developmental activities without a valid permit or authorization. The EPA said that if permit holders fail to get their documents renewed by the said deadline, enforcement actions will be taken, including the termination of operations. It said too that the failure to comply with the order will result in all permitting fees being retroactive from the date of the permit being expired to the time of the renewal application.

After a, thorough inspection was conducted earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Agency had revealed that it found 623 permits out of compliance, with 77 presenting imminent danger to the public’s health. The assessment was carried out on the instructions of EPA Head, Dr Vincent Adams. Dr. Adams said that one of the first things that he did after his appointment to the post was to request that his staff members put together a list of every permit that it has.

The EPA Head said, “And lo and behold, I was shocked when they came back and told me that we have 623 permits that are out of compliance, meaning expired. And that was the first problem. There are 400 plus in compliance, but we should not have permits that are not in compliance. I asked them to go back now and see how many are of imminent danger to the public, and that came up to be 77. So now I have this issue on my hand, which needs to be corrected urgently”, Dr Adams added.

(Kaieteur News)