No studies on environmental risks have yet begun for the Wales gas-to-shore project as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is still to give permission on an environmental authorisation sought, government says.
ExxonMobil will pay for the environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) and other studies. ExxonMobil will also be selecting the consultant for the project since according to this country’s current EPA Act, the contractor has to select the consultant from an EPA-approved list of persons.
However, there is no validation process to screen the credibility or expertise of those persons listed since for an approximate US$40 fee, anyone could apply and be put on the list as a consultant to do the ESIA.