Repsol mud spill incident... Polluter token fine, nothing but a cruel joke on Guyana -Conservationist

Repsol mud spill incident… Polluter token fine, nothing but a cruel joke on Guyana -Conservationist

Dec 29, 2019 News

By Kiana Wilburg

According to Guyana’s laws which date back to 1996, there is a provision called the “polluter pays principle”. This notes that companies are expected to institute measures to reduce pollution and ensure that the environment is in an acceptable state.

Conservationist, Annette Arjoon-Martins.

If there is an infraction of this, then the polluter has to provide compensation.
But the recent mud spill by Spanish oil company, Repsol, in the Kanuku block, makes this principle nothing but a cruel joke on Guyana says Conservationist, Annette Arjoon-Martins.
During an interview with Kaieteur News yesterday, the Environmentalist recalled media reports which noted that a mud spill occurred due to the fact that there was a breakdown of Standard Operating Procedures.
This, she reminded, led to a valve being left open and 84 barrels of drilling mud being spilled into the ocean. Because of the infraction of safety procedures, the company will only be fined about $1M which the concerned Guyanese says is just not enough.
Arjoon-Martins said that when one considers how Repsol and other oil companies deliver sermons of health and safety especially at the last two Guyana International Petroleum Exhibitions (GIPEX) she is at a loss for words at Repsol’s flagrant violation that was subsequently addressed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Importantly, the concerned citizen said that what disturbs her most is the harsh reality check the Repsol incident has given her.

EPA Head, Dr. Vincent Adams

Arjoon-Martins said, “My understanding of the polluter pays principle which gave me some level of security in the past is no more than a cruel joke when our archaic laws allow the polluter to go scot free because of the paltry fines that constrains the EPA.”
She reminded that even EPA Head, Dr. Vincent Adams, registered his disappointment with the media that he can only institute an approximately $1M fine on Repsol, which he had said is “not even a slap on the wrist.”
The Conservationist said, “It is imperative that as a great matter of urgency, this environmental deficit be corrected as soon as possible and that the mechanisms for its practical implementation are foolproof.”
Further to this, Arjoon-Martins articulated that she is quite aware that the high level of attrition of staff at the nation’s regulatory agencies will constantly undermine their capacity to monitor and manage the oil sector.
As such, she stressed that it is also imperative that there be an independent monitoring body to work along with the EPA until their capacity is built to the level needed.
The Conservationist said, “My position has always been that the EPA has been challenged to keep staff due to its inability to pay proper salaries to retain trained personnel…They therefore need a third party to assist them with monitoring.”
MUD SPILL INCIDENT
The EPA Head had told Kaieteur News that Repsol contracted Valaris, an offshore drilling contractor headquartered in London, United Kingdom, to drill an exploratory well in the Kanuku Block.
Dr. Adams had said that the operation in the Kanuku Block was not conducted in conformity with rigid safety procedures or else a valve would not have been left open resulting in mud spilling into the ocean.
Dr. Adams said he subsequently sent a three-person team, which included one official from the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), at the end of November to conduct several interviews.
He said that inquiries revealed that there was, as he suspected, no PROPER procedures in place. “If they did, they would have known the position of every valve. This is a matter of adhering to safety procedures. It could have been worse…,” added the EPA Head.
He further noted that all oil companies were summoned to a “serious discussion” about what is expected of them. Going forward, the EPA head said that the agency would be checking the safety procedures for all the oil companies.