The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has cleared the operations of several prospective mining and sawmilling companies, saying they will not have any significant impact on the environment.
According to a notice published in last Thursday’s edition of the Guyana Chronicle, the EPA stated that it had received applications from the companies and it had determined that the projects will not significantly affect the environment once relevant mechanisms are implemented to mitigate possible impacts. The EPA noted too that there are no fragile ecosystems and habitats or endangered species which will be affected by the projects.
Applications were received from Gerald Pereira and Paul Daby of a company called UNICOM as well as Cleon Chung, to carry out sand-mining activities on the Linden/Soesdyke Highway.
Several persons including, Oneisa Jones, Ameer Niron Bacchus as well as Jettoo’s Lumber yard and a company called Mariabo Investments Inc were also granted approval to operate sawmills without having to undertake an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
According to the EPA, an environmental authorisation with specific conditions for environmental management may be granted by the agency to the applicants for the implementation of the projects.
The EPA added, however, that in keeping with the Environmental Protection Act and the relevant regulations, any person who may be affected by the projects may lodge an appeal with the Environmental Assessment Board within the next month.
