Postpone public hearings on gas-to-shore energy project

Mar 21, 2023 Letters

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Dear Editor,

We have called on the Environmental Assessment Board (EAB) by letter dated March 16 to postpone its Public Hearing scheduled for March 22 on the 300 MW Gas-Fired Power Plant to be located at Wales, West Demerara. The EPA has waived the requirement for an EIA for this project. Some citizens have formally submitted written appeals to the EAB, and along with other stakeholders, expect to make oral presentations at a Hearing.

We are now publicly calling for this postponement for a number of reasons:

1. Under Article 8.1 of the Environmental Protection Act (EP Act), the newly appointed Chair of EAB, Mr Mahender Sharma, has a direct conflict of interest in this project since he is a longstanding Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) board member – and it is on the GPL letterhead that the application with project summary was submitted to the EPA for an environmental permit to construct and operate the Wales Gas Plant. Does this mean that the Chair of the EAB will preside over a matter of which he is also the applicant?
2. Further, Ms Maria Nadir Sharma, the wife of Mr. Mahender Sharma, is a prominent member of the company board which was specifically established in relation to the development of the Gas to Energy project. This situation of both the EAB Chair and his wife holding Board positions on both companies presents, in our opinion, is clear conflict of interest.
3. This situation is compounded by the fact that there are only three persons appointed to the EAB – all of whom are senior level public servants and employees of the government. Provision is made in the EP Act for up to 5 EAB members – but there are only these 3. The EAB, as it stands, needs to put its own house in order. To be genuinely independent, the EAB must have representation on it from professional and upstanding members from the non-governmental sector who are qualified environmental professionals.
4. A number of documents and requests for information to the EAB and EPA have been requested by the undersigned appellants, which have not yet been received, and which we consider essential documents related to the hearing. These include: The methodology for assessing the cumulative impacts of the project inclusive of the gas plat, the NGL facility and the gas pipeline; The rules of engagement for the conduct of EAB hearings; the mechanism for the recording of EAB hearings and access of such by the public – since EAB hearings are “public hearings”; It is not feasible that up the week in the which the hearing is scheduled to take place that, the EAB and EPA are unable to furnish us with these standard documents governing procedures and information mechanisms. (The EAB’s response as to its rules of engagement was to say that it was still developing these.)

Public Hearings are public hearings. The combined Gas to Energy/Gas to Shore project is the most expensive infrastructural project, to date, in Guyana with the Wales gas plant alone estimated at 3M US dollars. The project is described as spanning the entire Demerara- Berbice Interconnected system, which is where the largest proportion of Guyana’s population lives.

In view of these facts from the GPL’s project summary, it is unacceptable that the EAB declined our request for Zoom. A second letter was sent pointing out the necessity for zoom facility, in order to maximize stakeholder participation in the public hearing – given the geographic scope and widespread stakeholder interest. It was pointed out that it is not fair to disadvantage citizens and key stakeholders from participating in the hearing and having because they do not live in Georgetown. We further point out that there is precedent for EAB hearings where zoom was made available (e.g. the Coverden hearing held in July 2022); and that it is now the norm for national and international stakeholder meetings to be blended with physical and virtual participation. We have checked with Cara Lodge, the venue for the Hearing and zoom facility is most certainly available there. It is also improper for the EAB to refuse to accommodate our own technical and legal advisors whom EAB asked us to contact and invite, but who are unavoidably out of the jurisdiction at present. Of particular note is a gender discrimination issue: The fact is that grassroots and community-based women who have publicly raised their voices and expressed concerns about the project and who expect to make oral submissions at the hearing might now be denied the opportunity by the EAB to join by zoom. They feel discriminated against because of the realities of their child-care and family care responsibilities and their scattered community locations that are outside of the city and region.

The EAB is simply not in good enough order currently to preside fairly and independently

over the hearing on March 22nd. We call on the EAB to postpone the hearing. We call on the Chair to disclose his conflict of interest and to recuse himself or resign. We call on the President and relevant government authorities to establish an EAB that is not dominated by governmental employees and which includes equitable non-governmental and civil society members of high standing. All EAB appointees must be vetted with strict due diligence applied prior to being appointed and an independent committee should preside over their selection, review and approvals. We call for the establishment of the Tribunal as outlined in the EP Act. This body is required under the law and, does not, to date, exist. This breach of the Act needs to be addressed expeditiously so that there is recourse to this Tribunal by Guyanese citizens as prescribed by law.

All citizens of Guyana have the right to participation in decision-making in all sectors of the state according to Article 13 of the Constitution. We stand firmly for compliance, transparency and accountability with the Rule of Law in our country.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Deane Hughes

Vanda Radzik

And other Appellants to EAB re 300MW Gas-Fired Power Plan

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• Environmental Assessment Board (EAB), Gas-Fired Power Plant, Mr Mahender Sharma, Wales, West Demerara

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