…residents urge EPA to monitor operations

RESIDENTS of the community of Noitgedacht, located in proximity to Bosai Minerals Group Guyana Incorporated (BMGG) bauxite mines are calling on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to monitor the company’s operations on the dyke, where bauxite mines are located due to recent cases of flooding and pollution.

Speaking on behalf of the residents was Gavin-Greene Marshall, who has been a resident of Noitgedacht for many years and is currently experiencing terrible environmental issues which he claims are as a result of Bosai’s unregulated mining practices.

Marshall said that when it rains, the waste water and slug from the dyke is drained into Noitgedacht because Bosai is not putting systems in place to have the waste material diverted or discarded in a proper manner. The drains in the community, the resident claims are blocked from the slug and debris from the mines and the water is therefore backed up into the yards of residents, in addition to bauxite slush.

The situation has worsened during the May/June rains. “For whatever it is worth, I am paying my taxes, Bosai is making millions of dollars with good tax exemptions and therefore must be held responsible for bad environmental practices,” Marshall said. The distraught resident affirmed that the entire community is being affected, though the situation has been brought to the attention of the relevant authorities, including the Linden Mayor and Town Council (LMTC).

As a past employee of the bauxite company, he said that he can speak with authority on the matter since he was involved in mining for years. “The way they are operating the dyke, is contrary to how we operated the dyke years ago in Linmine, I am an engineer, I worked with Linmine and I know it is not done correctly and we are at risk in Noitgedacht.”

Speaking to the Guyana Chronicle on the issue was Bosai’s Senior Technical Service Coordinator, Wainwright Bethune, who is also the municipal constituency representative for Noitgedacht, who said that the situation was brought to his attention but denied that it is as a result of Bosai’s present operation. Bethune explained that the colour may be influenced by Bosai’s operations and Bosai can assists in alleviating the issue. “I have seen the pictures from two or three residents………it is some residue of bauxite grime in the area and every time it rains, the water will be discoloured but is not from the operation directly at the moment,” Bethune said. He promised to visit the area on Thursday with a team to ascertain the level of the damages caused.