The Environmental Assessment Board (EAB) on Tuesday upheld a decision of the EPA not to require an impact study for the construction of a new bridge over the Demerara River, relying in the main on a 2017 study which had concluded that the impacts of the project were “medium and manageable”.
Environmentalist and geologist, Simone Mangal-Joly had appealed a decision by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) not to require the study, arguing among other things that without a bridge design being finalized no decision on this matter could be made.
Unmoved by these arguments, the EAB – which hears appeals of EPA decisions – ruled in favour of the agency and said that an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) was not required. It however recommended that an Environmental and Social Management Plan be drawn up and a listed a number of areas that it should address.