Nalco Champion Guyana Inc. yesterday said that it will be meeting with community members later this week to address questions that have been raised about the proposed construction of a chemical warehousing facility in Ruimveldt.
The statements were made by Nalco Champion Guyana’s warehouse manager Eric Scott, after residents on Saturday expressed their concerns and protested against the construction of the chemical warehouse at the Industrial Site, citing potential health and environmental concerns.
The company applied to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to build and operate the facility. As part of the review, the EPA will conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to ensure that the company’s planned operations are safe to the community and the surrounding environs.
As part of the EIA, residents are allowed to make submissions of questions and comments they would like to be considered in the assessment.
Shortly after Stabroek News published an article on the company’s intention to construct and operate the facility at the site of John Fernandes Ltd, residents wrote to the Agency expressing their concerns over the facility.
Through the statement yesterday, the company noted that they, along with John Fernandes Ltd, would be hosting a public meeting with community members later this week to address the questions they have raised about the impact of the warehouse on the surrounding area.
“Our top concern is ensuring safety of the environment and the communities in which we operate. Our people also live and work here and we recognise that our neighbours may have questions about our operations. We are committed to working with the EPA and look forward to the opportunity to share more information with the local community and address any concerns they may have regarding our operations and safety plans we have in place,” Scott said.
The proposed facility at John Fernandes Ltd. Inland Terminal at 4055 Industrial Site, Ruimveldt will encompass 5,000 square metres and will only store warehouse chemical products. The company said that there will be no manufacturing, and that the stored chemicals would be very similar to common items such as rubbing alcohol, paint thinner, gasoline and diesel.
The proposed operation estimates that 1,493,000 kg of specialty and commodity chemicals will be imported and stored on-site and will occupy 5,000 square metres, with the intention of extending to 20,000 square metres as oil production increases. The proposed development of the operation will also involve the construction of office spaces, installation of a laboratory, storage of mechanical equipment and parts and transportation of chemicals, among other activities.
“We recognise the importance of being a responsible neighbour in the community and operating in compliance with all Guyanese regulations at our proposed facility,” the statement quoted the company’s Country Readiness Manager, John Waldvogel as saying.
The statement also added that the company responsibly operates similar locations in hundreds of communities and has a proven track record of safe, sustainable operations and community involvement.
Representatives from Houston Gardens, Roxanne Burnham Gardens, Shirley Field Ridley Square, Rasville and D’Aguiar Park were among attendees at the press conference on Saturday, held to discuss the proposed chemicals facility and other developments which may affect the welfare of those communities.
Geotechnical engineer Charles Ceres was also present and had opined that the Central Housing and Planning Authority, along with the Georgetown City Council’s Engineering Department are permitting the construction of facilities in areas where they have no sense of what impact the facilities would cause on the residents of surrounding areas. “We are seeing development surrounding or within our community of which we have no idea of the impacts they would cause,” he stated.
Ceres said that they had sent two letters to the EPA last June asking them to look at the entirety of the operations occurring in the area and up to now they have not received a response. He said that one of the letters was written after the Nalco advertisement was published, while the other was written registering complaints about the noise level in the area, prior to them finding out about the proposed chemical warehouse.
