Two environmental activists have filed a suit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to quash the permit it issued for the ExxonMobil Guyana-led Liza Phase 1 oil project in the Stabroek Block, offshore Guyana.
The main contention of the applicants, University of Guyana lecturer Sinikka Henry and human rights activist Danuta Radzik, is that in the absence of an environmental impact assessment (EIA), the EPA was prohibited from issuing the permit.
They contend that in breach of the Environmental Protection Act, the required assessment was not done, nor was any public consultation carried out. The women argue, also, that “the EPA acted unlawfully by refusing to provide information about whether Esso had complied with the regulatory requirements for applying for a new permit.”