US logistics company to set up EBD Waste Treatment Facility

Mar 25, 2021 News

Global Oil-Environmental Service (GOES).

Kaieteur News – As Guyana’s oil industry expands, companies are rushing to grab a piece of the action by establishing a presence here to support ongoing activities.
This time, a US based Logistics Company, Global Oil-Environmental Service (GOES), is seeking to set up on Guyana’s shores, with a project already filed with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
On the EPA’s latest public notice dated March 21, 2021, it outlined that GOES proposed the construction and operation of a Waste Treatment Facility for transfer, storage, treatment and disposal of Exploration and Production (E&P) Oil and Gas Waste. That facility would be housed at Block ‘X’ TE Huiste, Block I, ‘T’ Hustle Coverden, East Bank Demerara.
The EPA outlined on its notice that the project would not significantly impact the environment, therefore concluding that it does not require an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). This has been a contentious issue in the past as the EPA, tasked with being Guyana’s environmental watchdog, severely lacks the capacity to monitor the influx of oil chemical set to increase as the sector expands.
The GOES intended project would make the sixth project the EPA has not required an EIA for.
Not only is the move alarming to most industry advocates, but equally concerning is the fact that the agency severely lacks the capacity to monitor the influx of chemicals set to increase as the sector expands.
In addition to severely lacking basic capacities such as human resources to assess simple environmental issues, the EPA is also devoid of simple equipment to measure pollutants in the air.
An EIA is a critical tool used to identify the environmental, social and economic impacts of a project whether it may be for the construction of a plant or warehouse for industrial or chemical purposes. Once completed, the document, which comprises the risks the project would pose to the environment, would be assessed for approval by the relevant authorities.
It is unclear how the EPA arrived at the conclusion that such a project would not require an EIA without the requisite equipment to conduct tests or a study to determine the impact which the project will have on the environment and nearby environs.
The common denominator amongst the projects was the fact that they would all be located in proximity to residential housing areas and even in one case, in proximity to a community reservoir. In addition, while the EPA stipulates a 30-day period for complaints and objections to be lodged, that deadline would be missed by concerned residents who only discover the small notice tucked away in the local newspapers weeks after.
By that time, the projects would be given the stamp of approval leaving residents to deal with whatever harmful effects that may follow.
Guyana’s response capacity was already tested in a major way after a “Rheduce” chemical spill at the Guyana National Industrial Company (GNIC), leading to the EPA putting a halt on chemicals being stored at the wharf.
A forklift pierced the container holding the chemical that was left at the facility for months after being imported by Schlumberger Guyana. While the chemical placed no harm on the environment and human life, what was worrying about the incident was that the EPA was notified more than nine hours after the spill had occurred.

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