The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is moving to ensure all regulatory entities are authorised under the Act.
Senior Environmental Officer of the EPA, Candacy Thompson
The Agency is currently working with other regulatory bodies, which include the Central Housing and Planning Authority, Regional Democratic Councils and the Tourism Authority which are all empowered to grant the necessary permits to businesses which have to be renewed.
Some hotels and resort operators may not be able to renew their registrations because these regulatory entities have not been authorised to do so by the EPA.
Senior Environmental Officer of the EPA, Candacy Thompson, said those who are reluctant to get their necessary documentations, as stipulated under the EPA Act, will be taken to court.
However, because the judicial system is crowded and the lack of knowledge on the need for authorisation, the EPA is currently on a sensitisation programme countrywide.
“Our goal ultimately is not to take everybody to court. Our goal is to ensure that you do what you’re suppose to do but of course for those who are not compliant we will have to do enforcement,” Thompson said.
The Agency, as it moves in the direction of enforcement is currently trying to ensure that the entities are fully aware of the required regulations.
“We are empowered under the Environmental Protection Act to enforce against defaulters in certain practices. However, we have recognised that given the dynamics of Guyana’s environment the work of the Environmental Protection Agency needs to be more visible. In most cases we would have found that some persons do not want to get into an orderly system but we have also found that some persons are genuinely not aware that they need an environmental authorisation to operate,” Thompson explained.
Currently workshops are being held with hotel operators and managers of resorts. This is one of several initiatives being taken by the EPA since its restructuring in 2017.
The EPA seeks to have all entities sync with the Green State Development Strategy. As such, several areas of intervention have been implemented. These include the issuing of environmental authorisations which are required under the Environmental Protection Act.
Some of those entities are hotels and resorts.
On Monday, the EPA began its first in a series of engagements in those two entities in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne). The workshop was held at the Regional Democratic Council’s Boardroom at Vrymens Erven, New Amsterdam. A similar engaged is planned for Region Seven (Cuyuni-
Mazaruni). The EPA has planned similar engagements for all 10 administrative regions so that operators can be aware of the need to be authorised by the EPA.
Thompson said the EPA is hoping that those which are not authorised will initiate the process and complete it and those that are authorised are adhering to their permit conditions.
“So that when we move towards enforcement, we don’t have much of the issues whereby persons say that we’re never aware that they required environmental authorisation.”
Meanwhile, focus is also being placed on other sectors based on complaints and levels of environmental risk. Among those sectors are forestry, gas stations, spray painting and mechanical operation facilities.
Thompson says the ultimate goal is to ensure that entities are authorised because with authorisation comes specific permit conditions which will enable them to embrace Guyana’s green developmental past.
