EPA and ERM violate national law – again!

 We, Wintress Morris and Joy Marcus, have gone back to court to uphold the rule of law and protect Guyana from the failures of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In March 2025, Her Honour Madam Justice Morris ruled that the environmental impact assessment for Exxon’s proposed Hammerhead Project must comply with national law and must  identify, describe and evaluate the effects of Scope 3 emissions on the environment. Scope 3 emissions are pollution. They are what you get when you burn oil / gas for energy. 

It is all over the international press, that the International Court of Justice has just said that this pollution has created an existential threat to life on earth. We are not going to stand by and let our future go up in smoke. 

The EPA is supposed to make sure that ERM identifies, describes and evaluates the impact of Scope 3 emissions on the people of Guyana, on our soil, our water, our ocean, the atmosphere, the ecological balance and ecosystems and so on.  

But once again Kemraj Parsram the head of the EPA has failed the people of Guyana. 

The Hammerhead EIA produced by ERM blatantly disregards both the Court’s decision and the legal requirements of Section 11(4) of the Environmental Protection Act. ERM clearly believe they are above the law. They are not.

ERM claims that it is not feasible to assess Scope 3 emissions. This is absolute rubbish. The American Petroleum Institute has provided clear guidance on how to assess Scope 3, pointing out that if there is any doubt at all you should assume that 100% of the oil and gas will burned. Are ERM so incompetent that they overlooked this basic industry standard? Or is that they have a conflict of interest because they act for the top oil and gas companies in the world? 

In line with our instructions our Attorneys-at-Law have twice written to the EPA warning them that this Hammerhead EIA is unlawful, null and void. Yet the EPA has not rejected it. Instead they have publicly asserted that they will submit it to the Environmental Assessment Board –  in defiance of national law and our rights as citizens to be protected from pollution.  

By failing to reject this unlawful EIA for Exxon’s proposed Hammerhead Project, the EPA has abdicated its statutory duty and ignored the harmful impacts of this Project’s pollution. We have no choice but to go back to Court and ask the Court to

• Declare this Hammerhead EIA to be unlawful, null, and void;
• Prohibit the EPA from issuing any permits based on this defective EIA; and
• Compel the EPA to require a new, lawful EIA that includes Scope 3 emissions, as required under Section 11(4).

The EPA has shown complete disregard for us the Guyanese public whom they are required to protect. The EPA’s conduct is part of a pattern of behaviour that is sanctioned by this government. The entire country has seen how the Attorney-General has joined in other cases to side with Exxon against the people of Guyana. This has got to stop.

This case is about more than just oil. It is about the integrity of our legal system, the accountability of public institutions, and the health and well-being of all of us Guyanese people.

We are not opposed to sustainable development – but we stand firmly against pollution, dishonesty, and the erosion of the rule of law. 

We call on other citizens to stand up with us for our country, our families and our future.

We are represented by Attorneys-at-Law Melinda Janki, Tim Prudhoe, Anna-Kay Brown, and Saevion David-Longe.