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“The Alliance for Change[AFC] welcomes the landmark decision made by High Court Justice Sandil Kissoon in favour of the people of Guyana, ordering Exxon and EPA to have in place unlimited/full liability coverage to cover all costs in the event of an oil spill.” So said Dr. Vincent Adams, former head of the Environment Protection Agency (EPA), who was hired during the A Partnership of National Unity and Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) coalition government.
Unlimited coverage as first enshrined in the permits by the coalition government, means the sum of insurance, plus an unlimited parent company (Exxon/Hess/CNOOC) guarantee to cover all costs above the insurance; thus leaving the country free of any liabilities, Adams advised. He likened the oil insurance to our health, car, or home insurance, where the insurance covers a certain amount and you have to cover all of the remainder.
Last Wednesday Justice Kissoon ruled ExxonMobil was in breach of insurance obligations for its first offshore oil project in Guyana in part due to errors by the EPA.
Adams said the ruling is no doubt a major milestone and victory not only bringing a deep sense of relief to the people of Guyana, but also to our Caribbean neighbours, whose livelihoods were also threatened by such a disaster. “Our deepest of gratitude goes out to our many courageous Guyanese who fought this good fight to ensure that justice is finally served to protect and safeguard our almost pristine environment.”
The great Guyanese who filed the case
Acknowledging the “great Guyanese that include TIGI headed by Frederick Collins who filed the lawsuit; Melinda Janki, the prominent Attorney at the forefront of many of these similar cases; Guyana’s news media; and of course, the Red Thread Women who, through much sacrifice and ridicule, kept their spirits up, to actually ‘walk the talk’ as they march in protest for full liability coverage, every first Wednesday of the month,” the AFC said it will continue to join all in this crusade.
The detrimental effects of an oil spill cannot be overstated, the former EPA head warned.
“Countries that had the misfortune of experiencing such a disaster, feel the ill-effects for decades later, and some have never fully recovered. The ruling is also an indictment on the operations of the EPA. Since the change of administration, this agency which is mandated to be the country’s protector against all environmental hazards, has ceded its responsibility to the oil industry.
“This is the second major ruling that has been levelled against the EPA (the first being its unlawful decision to waiver the granting of an EIA for the storage of radioactive materials in a residential zone), which clearly demonstrates that the management of this agency is inadequate and lack the necessary qualifications to carry out its important functions.”
Judge Kissoon had described the agency as being “submissive and abdicated its responsibilities, thereby putting this nation and its people in grave potential danger of calamitous disaster” and “an egregious state of affairs that have engulfed the EPA in a quagmire of its own making.”
Adams pointed it was also this agency Head, who, at the proposed gas plant’s public meeting, equated the emissions from the gas plant with the emissions of “a car that we drive around”. The time has now arrived to address the running of this agency.
PPP’s stewardship of blossoming oil and gas sector under microscope
Equally under the microscope, is the PPPC’s stewardship of this blossoming oil and gas sector. In their quest to maximize revenues at all costs, they have allowed the nation to be treated as a guinea pig and dumping ground of the oil companies, Adams pointed out.
He reminded, the parliamentary opposition moved a motion less than a year ago, demanding that unlimited coverage be put in place, but the PPP/C used their parliamentary majority to vote against this motion, claiming that a US$600M policy and a capping stack was all that the country requires.
This ruling should also put Exxon and its partners on notice and sends the very strong message that the people of Guyana will not sit idly by while they overlook and attempt to evade their responsibilities to follow the rule of law in Guyana – responsibilities which they uphold in other territories, stated Adams.
“The Judge has drawn a line and says NO MORE! One can recall that none other than the Country Manager of EEPGL announced that the company will only be responsible for “reasonable, credible, and acceptable” damages resulting from an oil spill; but most distressingly, the Government and EPA have callously chosen to parrot these same words, even putting them into the recently issued Uaru Permit. Thankfully, Judge Kissoon’s ruling has found EEPGL position to be unreasonable, incredible and unacceptable.”
The Government has signalled its intent to appeal the ruling.
