EPA orders Stewartville lumberyard to institute `mitigation measures’
A Region Three lumberyard owner whose operations have reportedly been creating serious “dust and noise nuisances” in the residential community in which it operates for some time, has finally been required to bring an end to his neighbours’ ordeal through a list of terse orders from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Andrew Forrester, whose 136 Stewartville, West Coast Demerara, lumberyard, which, according to the EPA, also includes “processing” operations has been given one month from October 30 this year to implement six “mitigation measures” designed to bring an end to what one resident in the neighbourhood told this newspaper is both a “never-ending nuisance” and a “serious health hazard.”
Arising out of complaints made to the EPA regarding the operations of the lumber yard, the Agency said that it “conducted an investigation on October 9, 2019” following which Mr Foster has been given one month from the date of the communication issued by the EPA to put “mitigation measures” in place.
The EPA is requiring
Foster to “conduct regular maintenance (of his operations) to ensure that pipes and openings are sealed around the sawmill area to prevent the escape of fugitive dust into the environment” as well as “ensure that all sound-making devices such as generators, planers etc. are suitably enclosed in structures constructed with materials of good noise-insulation properties (eg. hollow concrete blocks, insulation boards, solid clay bricks) and are equipped with silencers or mufflers to reduce the noise level.” The EPA is also requiring that “the exhaust stack of the generator be 2 metres above the tallest building in the surrounding area.”
Beyond these measures the EPA is also requiring the business owner to “ensure that all machinery and equipment are placed on foundations properly designed to ensure effective damping of vibrations” as well as “ensure that machinery and equipment are well maintained to minimise noise emissions.”
The EPA is also requiring the lumberyard owner to “ensure (the) main access gate is closed at all times during processing and adapt a periodic strategy to ensure materials that will be used for processing is placed within the operation to minimise opening the access gate thereby minimising the escape of fugitive dust particles.”
Stabroek Business has been informed that the noise and dust nuisance linked to the operations of the lumberyard have persisted over time despite manifest evidence of the environmental impact, particularly the dust nuisance as well as its implications for the health and wellbeing of the community.
A resident whose home is located close to the lumberyard has told Stabroek Business that residents will be monitoring the situation in the wake of the EPA’s directive and will be providing information to both the EPA and this newspaper regarding the progress or otherwise made within the stipulated time frame to comply with the Agency’s directive.