Latest update February 25th, 2026 2:55 PM
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EPA faces another lawsuit for breach of court order in Exxon’s 7th project
Kaieteur News – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is facing another lawsuit in relation to US oil major ExxonMobil’s 7th project – the Hammerhead.
Concerned citizens, Wintress Morris and Joy Marcus, who filed the follow up court case, explained that it is in response to the blatant violation of a high court order by the EPA.
“We have gone back to court to uphold the rule of law and protect Guyana from the failures of the EPA.”
In a release, the duo explained that in March 2025, Justice Simone Morris ruled that the environmental impact assessment for Exxon’s proposed Hammerhead Project must comply with national law and must identify, describe and evaluate the effects of Scope 3 emissions or pollution on the environment.
As a result, they noted the EPA is supposed to make sure that the Environmental Resource Management (ERM) identifies, describes and evaluates the impact of Scope 3 emissions on the people of Guyana, on the soil, water, ocean, atmosphere, ecological balance and ecosystems etc.
The release stated however, that Kemraj Parsram, head of the EPA, has failed the people of Guyana.
The applicants noted that “The Hammerhead Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) produced by ERM blatantly disregards both the court’s decision and the legal requirements of Section 11(4) of the Environmental Protection Act. ERM clearly believes they are above the law. They are not.”
They explained that “Scope 3 emissions are pollution. They are what you get when you burn oil/gas for energy.”
The two described the ERM claims that it is not feasible to assess Scope 3 emissions as “absolute rubbish.”
“The American Petroleum Institute has provided clear guidance on how to assess Scope 3, pointing out that if there is any doubt at all you should assume that 100 per cent of the oil and gas will burn. Are ERM so incompetent that they overlooked this basic industry standard? Or is that they have a conflict of interest because they act for the top oil and gas companies in the world?” the release stated.
It continued “it is all over the international press, that the International Court of Justice has just said that this pollution has created an existential threat to life on earth. We are not going to stand by and let our future go up in smoke.”
In line with their instructions, the attorneys attached to the case have twice written to the EPA warning them that the Hammerhead EIA is unlawful, null and void. Yet the EPA has not rejected it. Instead, it has publicly asserted that it will submit it to the Environmental Assessment Board – in defiance of national law and our rights as citizens to be protected from pollution.
By failing to reject this unlawful EIA for Exxon’s proposed Hammerhead Project, the applicants noted that the EPA has abdicated its statutory duty and ignored the harmful impacts of this project’s pollution.
“We have no choice but to go back to court and ask the court to declare this Hammerhead EIA to be unlawful, null, and void; prohibit the EPA from issuing any permits based on this defective EIA; and compel the EPA to require a new, lawful EIA that includes Scope 3 emissions, as required under Section 11(4).
The duo stressed that the EPA has shown complete disregard for us the Guyanese public whom they are required to protect.
They noted the EPA’s conduct is part of a pattern of behaviour that is sanctioned by the government.
“The entire country has seen how the attorney general has joined in other cases to side with Exxon against the people of Guyana. This has got to stop! This case is about more than just oil. It is about the integrity of our legal system, the accountability of public institutions, and the health and well-being of all of us Guyanese people,” the two applicants added.
They have called on fellow Guyanese to stand up for their country, families and future.
“We are not opposed to sustainable development – but we stand firmly against pollution, dishonesty, and the erosion of the rule of law.”
Morris and Marcus are being represented by UK-based Guyanese attorney and environmental protection advocate, Melinda Janki, as well as attorneys Tim Prudhoe, Anna-Kay Brown, and Saevion David-Longe.
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