WITH Guyana’s rapidly expanding development across all sectors, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must be equipped and trained to respond effectively to environmental emergencies in order to reduce environmental impacts and risks to human health. To effectively respond, the Agency has developed Guidelines for Environmental Emergency Response and has trained approximately 60 per cent of its staff in the Incident Command System, while another 15 persons were trained in Shoreline Cleanup Technique. Additionally, the Agency has invested in a vehicle and environmental monitoring equipment to aid in effective response.

According to the United Nations Environment Program, an environmental emergency is a sudden-onset disaster or accident resulting from natural, technological or human-induced factors or a combination of these, that causes or threatens to cause severe environmental damage as well as harm to human health and or livelihoods.
According to the EP Act Cap 20:05, the EPA responds to environmental emergencies and provides technical support to sister agencies responding to environmental emergencies, including the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission.

Given the EPA’s mandate to oversee the effective management, conservation, protection and improvement of the environment; and to prevent or control pollution, it is our responsibility to respond in an operational role for environmental emergencies. Technical advice is provided to the government, industry, and the community before, during, and after emergencies through scientific, engineering, and regulatory expertise on the environment and the impacts to health from pollution caused.

Besides the major benefit of providing guidance during an emergency, developing a plan has other advantages. During an emergency response, discoveries of unrecognised hazardous conditions that would intensify an emergency situation can be addressed to eliminate them. The planning process often highlights or pinpoints challenges such as the lack of resources (equipment, trained personnel, supplies, etc.), or items that can be corrected before an emergency occurs. In addition, an emergency plan promotes safety awareness and shows the organisation’s commitment to the safety of its workers.

As the probability of an occurrence of an emergency is often times high, pre-planning is necessary. A well-thought-out, well-organised emergency response plan will help to eliminate these issues. An urgent need for rapid decisions, a shortage of time, and a lack of resources and trained personnel can lead to chaos during an emergency.

Time and circumstances in an emergency mean that normal channels of authority and communication cannot be relied upon to function routinely. The stress of the situation can lead to poor judgment resulting in severe losses.

The CDC has developed a number of plans to respond to environmental emergencies, including the Guyana National Oil Spill Contingency Plan (August 2020), Flood Preparedness and Response Plan, and Disaster Risk Management. Environmental emergencies that have gotten the EPA’s attention during the past year and to date include tailings spills, chemical spills, fuel spills, and a suspected oil spill. Other emergencies include bird strikes, fish kills, and spin-off incidents from natural hazards, e.g., an earthquake damaging an industrial facility, which releases hazardous materials.

The EPA’s Emergency Response System (EERS) has two designated telephone numbers that members of the public can dial to report environmental emergencies and request the Agency’s response. The EERS will be operational daily on a 24-hour system. The numbers designated for the EERS are (592)- 225-5469, 592-623-4594, and (592) 623-4614. As part of this system, the Agency has designated officers who are specialised and prepared to respond to specific environmental emergencies e.g. fish kills, chemical spills etc.

You can share your ideas and questions by sending letters to: “Our Earth, Our Environment”, C/O Communications, Environmental Protection Agency, Ganges Street, Sophia, Georgetown, or email us at: eit.epaguyana@gmail.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube channel.