The Georgetown City Council, on Tuesday, deployed members of its team to stop ongoing work at the John Fernandes Ltd. warehouse at Houston and is adamant that the Council is prepared to take the necessary legal action against the company.

The City Council, in a press conference on Tuesday, told members of the media that the company has continued operations on warehouse even after the council, EPA and the City Engineer’s office have served the company with orders to cease operations.

The City Works Committee on July 22, 2019, issued the company with ‘cease letters’ in an effort to bring its operations to a halt. The committee stated that, following the cease order, John Fernandes has since failed to comply with the request of the committee.

The chairman of the City Works Committee remains unwavering in the committee’s belief that the petrochemical bond should not be erected within the perimeters of land the company owns, due to the environmental impact the chemicals could have on the surrounding vicinity. She stated that the bond will pose potential danger to the citizens and residents of the area.

Members of the council expressed that they were unaware that the company had received any permission from the central housing and planning authority to change the contract regarding land use from agricultural purposes to commercial or industrial purposes.

The warehouse facility at John Fernandes Ltd. Inland Terminal at Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown, is set to be used by the oil and gas company Nalco Champions Guyana as a Chemical Warehouse. Nalco Champions had contacted the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in relation to getting approval for an Environmental Authorization. The city council has stated that all operations were to be suspended until the EPA had conducted an Environmental Impact Assessment.

The EIA follows a legal template which states that the public has a legal right to be informed of, and be a part of, the EIA process and as such the EPA informed the public of the application via a notice published in the Stabroek News dated July 04, 2019.

In order for the public’s comments, concerns and recommendations to be captured in the EIA study, written submissions to the Agency should be done 28 days from the date of publication of the notice. On completion of the EIA a second notice will be posted, which would afford the public 60 days to give their comments and suggestions on the EIA. Once the EIA is completed and the risks assessed the EPA either approves or disapproves the request for the Environmental Authorization.

The council has informed John Fernandes ltd. that the timeframe for the completion of the EIA has not run its full course, so informing them that the process of getting approval to continue construction has not yet exhausted the stipulated time period, alerting them that they have no legal ground for continuing works on their facility.

CEO of John Fernandes ltd. Phillip Fernandes in an interview with the Guyana Chronicle was adamant that there is no current work being conducted on the site. He stated that per his business experience conducting unapproved work would be a waste of resources.

The company has also issued a statement through its secretary Zach Gonsalves, denying having not complied with the orders received from the City Council. It furthermore stated that it has gone through all appropriate channels in seeking approval for the project.

It further specified that the company had applied to the Central Housing and Planning Authority for the lands and property in Plantation Houston to be reconfigured as a container terminal, inclusive of storage of lumber and pipes and approval was granted in October 2014. According to the company in order to conduct the business of a container terminal, warehousing would need to be available, based on this requirement John Fernandes Ltd applied to the city engineer’s office in April 2018 for permission to erect the warehouse, permission is yet to be granted by the city engineers office.

The city council has also issued a second ‘cease order’, this one against the Houston Estate to cease work they are currently conducting on a navigation canal in the surrounding premises of the Houston estate. According to the council, the estate owners have approved the filling of the drains with sand and mud, and have yet to produce them or the city engineer with any plan regarding this action. The council is insistent that this project must be brought to a speedy halt as it could lead to several complications relating to the drainage of the city.

The council remains unyielding, stating that it expects business persons and persons in general to take the necessary steps in ensuring their plans are well within the legal parameters and that such could only be done when the plans are brought before the relevant authorities and approval has been granted. The council reminds the public to respect the council which has the authority to take legal action to ensure compliance with the relevant laws.