Following public objections, Oilfield Waste Management Services (OWMS) has decided to relocate its proposed waste treatment plant from Peters Hall, East Bank of Demerara (EBD) to Little Diamond also on the EBD.
In a press release on Friday, the Environmen-tal Protection Agency (EPA) notified the general public, that OWMS has changed the location for its proposed plant and that this decision was prompted by the concerns raised by residents within the project’s area of influence.
According to the EPA, it had received an application from OWMS for the Construction and Operation of a Waste Treatment Plant at Plot “A21” Planation Peters Hall, EBD. Subsequently, the EPA said it screened the project to assess its potential impacts on the environment and determined that an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) would not be required to inform its decision on whether or not to authorise the project.
The EPA then published its decision on the project via a Public Notice on September 27, 2020. The Notice also advised the public that any person who may be affected by the project may lodge an appeal against the EPA’s decision to not require an EIA within 30 days of the date of the Notice.
“During the thirty-day period of the Notice, the EPA received objections and concerns from members of the public regarding the project’s suitability at the proposed location. As a result, the EPA placed the project on hold and engaged the project proponent, OWMS on the concerns raised. This led to the developer opting to propose a new location for the project; the new location is more remote and is at Little Diamond, EBD”, the EPA said.
The EPA assured that it will publish a Public Notice indicating the new location of the proposed project and informing any member of the public who may be affected by the project to lodge an appeal against its decision not to require an EIA for the project. The EPA added that it will only proceed to authorise the project if there are no objections from the public and upon receipt of the location suitability approval from the Central Housing and Planning Authority.
This decision by OWMS is a victory for citizens who naturally had concerns about the positioning of an oilfield waste treatment plant in proximity to populated centres on the East Bank of Demerara. One of the notorious repercussions of the developing oil and gas industry is the insatiable grab for every empty lot or river frontage on the East Bank of Demerara to service any and every need for oil production in the Atlantic. Good sense must prevail.
The Neighbourhood Democratic Councils on the East Bank, the Central Housing and Planning Authority, the Ministry of Local Government and the EPA among others, should hold urgent consultations on where the line should be drawn otherwise the area will soon be overrun by mud plants, chemical storage warehouses, waste treatment facilities and other problematic operations associated with the oil and gas industry.
It boggles the mind as to why the EPA would not require an Environmental Impact Assessment for the OWMS waste treatment plant. A cursory check of the project summary lodged with the EPA would raise concerns for communities on the East Bank.
OWMS “plans to construct a thermal desorption waste treatment plant in Guyana to support the growing oil exploration activities. The plant is based on a thermal desorption separator (hammer mill) which uses friction to heat wastes so that oil residue are evaporated. The evaporated oil and water contents are then condensed and recaptured/ separated. The remaining solids can then be safely disposed or reused. OWMS plans to recycle the recaptured oil so that it can be used in the Liquid Mud Plant manufacturing process. The solid wastes will be used in the bitumen manufacturing process. No solids are expected to be sent to landfills”.
The treatment plant is to be about 5,000 square metres and there will be a concrete pit with rainproof shelter which can hold 1,000 tons of oily cuttings.
Not to require an EIA appears to assume that the plant would operate perfectly and there would be no risk of discharge of liquids, gas or solids into the environment. The arrival of the oil and gas industry requires an adjusted approach by the EPA to its mandate which should consider the risk of industrial accidents close to population centres.
Now that the project is intended to move to the Little Diamond Area, the EPA should re-examine the basis for its decision not to require an EIA. It must be aware that there is a well-held public view that regulatory bodies and other considerations will not be allowed to stand in the way of the extraction of Guyana’s oil and its supporting operations. Notwithstanding this, the safety of communities has to be the number one priority of the EPA and it must reflect this in its public posture. The EPA is leaving the onus on the public to challenge its decision not to require an EIA. This is preposterous. Is the EPA really expecting that concerned citizens in Little Diamond will be able to mount a technical riposte to the OWMS project?
This was not the first victory for the public in the siting of potentially hazardous operations of the oil and gas industry.
Just over a year ago, another provider to the industry, Nalco Champion had planned to store large quantities of chemicals at the John Fernandes Ltd Water Street Terminal. The facility at the Inland Terminal site was to be engaged in the filtration, storage and warehousing of oilfield chemicals to supply the offshore oil platform. The proposed operation estimated that 1,493,000 kg of specialty and commodity chemicals would be imported and stored on-site and would occupy 5,000 square metres, with the intention of extending to 20,000 square metres as oil production increases. Following understandable objections from the public, only an interim permit was issued by the EPA and this was not good enough for ExxonMobil and it decided to take these services overseas.
Meanwhile, GLASS Holdings Inc. which had plans for a project at Peters Hal to store Asphaltene Inhibitor, Corrosion inhibitor, Biocide, Hydrate Inhibitor, Demulsifier, Chlorine Scavenger, Defoamer and Hydrate Inhibitor is now said to be prospecting for another site. Wherever this new site may be located it will require careful scrutiny because of the types of chemicals the company proposes to utilize.
Vigilance must be maintained over all parts of the oil and gas industry and the activism of citizens is most welcome.
