Residents and communities must know details of impacts from country’s first power plant

Feb 13, 2023 News

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…Houston resident objects to EIA waiver by EPA

Kaieteur News – A Houston resident and environmental activist, Danuta Radzik has objected to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPAs) decision to waive an Environmental Impact Assessment for the 300 megawatt gas fired power plant to be constructed at Wales, West Bank Demerara.

The power plant is a component of the Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project being developed by the Government of Guyana (GoG) and American oil major, ExxonMobil. The project entails transporting the natural resource via a pipeline, then separating and treating the gas via a Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) facility which will then be used to generate electricity via the power plant in question.

Radzik in her February 3, 2023 appeal addressed to the Environmental Assessment Board (EAB) said the gas fired power plant that carries a very costly price tag means it is not a “business as usual project.” In fact, she told the board that this project is the first of its kind; therefore, residents and communities need to be made aware in detail about the impacts of such a project on the environment and the affected populations.

ExxonMobil through its Consultant, Environmental Resources Management (ERM) had prepared and submitted an EIA for the pipeline and the NGL facility. This document stated that the likely impacts from the power plant were considered in the Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) done.

To this end, the resident told the EAB “the Power Plant is not covered in any detail sufficient in this EIA and as such cannot be a substitute for a separate comprehensive Power Plant EIA.” She was keen to note, “Not to do so would be a violation of the (Environmental Protection) EP Act and an attempt to use an unacceptable back door premise to deny stakeholders the right to access all necessary information through EIAs as set out in Guyana’s Environmental Act.”

Radzik is of the firm view that CH4 Global and Lindsayca, the joint venture that has been awarded the contract to construct the power plant should pilot a separate environmental impact study.

In fact, she said this separate assessment is required by the Environmental Protection Act- Fifth Schedule. According to her, “Denying of a separate EIA for the Power Plant which is dependent on the NGL plant to function is giving a go ahead for a power plant to nowhere as there is no information provided as to how power plant is going to transfer gas to electricity for Guyanese. According to this EIA,  there is no location assigned to where this power plant is to be built, nor any information on electrical substations and transmission line to transmit power to the Guyana electrical grid. It is the height of absurdity and negligence for the EPA to deny a separate EIA under these circumstances. No right-thinking Guyanese can accept such a ludicrous proposition.”

Radzik pointed out that the EPA in its reasons for granting a waiver of the EIA said, “The results of the (CIA), revealed that while there is potential for temporary impacts on air quality, the maximum concentrations of nitrogen oxide (NO2) sulphur dioxide (SO2) and particulate matter (PM 2.5 and PM10) and carbon monoxide (CO) will be within the World Health Organization (WHO) stipulated limits.”

It also said, “The proposed location falls within the area of influence/footprint of an EPA approved Gas to Energy (GTE) that was subjected to a comprehensive EIA, including a CIA. The CIA concluded that there will be no significant impacts from the combined activities/projects.”

The activist explained that these reasons fail to comprehensively individually or cumulatively address or reflect the WHO’s statement that “clean air is a basic human right” but air pollution still poses a significant threat, leading to the cause of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart attacks or stroke. She was keen to point out, “According to the World Health Organization, there are 7 million premature deaths every year due to the combined effects of air pollution– with millions more people falling ill from breathing polluted air. More than half of these deaths are recorded in developing countries.”

She said that the cumulative assessment done by Exxon could not have properly assessed air emissions from the power plant as the exact location and design is unknown. “It is unacceptable that this lack of information was deemed acceptable by the EPA to waiver a separate EIA for a missing comprehensive plan for a power plant,” Radzik argued.

On Sunday, Kaieteur News reported that a group of citizens filed an objection to the EPA’s decision to waive an EIA for the power plant. It was filed by two citizens Attorney-at-Law Elizabeth Deane-Hughes and Environmental Activist, Vanda Radzik. Fourteen other Guyanese also attached their signatures to the objection letter addressed to the EAB on February 5, 2023.

 

 

 

 

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• EIA, ExxonMobil, gas, power plant, waiver

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