SAT Environmental Consultants (Pty) Ltd’s Post

The Lagos State Government has sealed the facilities of three major companies – Nigerian Bottling Company (producers of Coca-Cola), FrieslandCampina (makers of Peak Milk), and Guinness Nigeria Plc – for extracting large quantities of groundwater without proper authorisation. The Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission (LASWARCO) carried out the enforcement operation, as disclosed by Mr. Olowu Babatunde, Director of Technical Services at LASWARCO, on Tuesday in Lagos, as reported by the News Agency of Nigeria. Babatunde revealed that LASWARCO had been engaging with these companies for over seven years to ensure compliance with water abstraction regulations, but these efforts had largely been unsuccessful. We operate a law that empowers us to regulate most of these heavy abstractors in Lagos State. Abstractors are individuals or entities that extract large quantities of groundwater for commercial purposes. “So, these companies that we have sealed, basically three of them – Coca-Cola, FreislandCampina and Guinness, abstract water in large quantities. “And we have been engaging them over time. At least, I have been here for more than seven years now. We’ve been engaging these companies for more than seven years now. “Some, either they do partial compliance, or some don’t comply at all. So, now that we started implementation of our regulation, we now compel them to fulfill all their regulatory demands,” he said. The move highlights the commission’s resolve to enforce compliance and address the environmental risks posed by unregulated groundwater abstraction. The NAN report highlighted that the enforcement stemmed from a recent briefing by Tokunbo Wahab, Commissioner for the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources. Wahab emphasized the critical need to regulate groundwater activities to address environmental risks such as land subsidence and groundwater contamination. He explained that the Environmental Management Protection Law of 2017 grants LASWARCO the authority to oversee groundwater abstraction and penalize organisations that fail to comply with the regulations. In 2020, the Lagos State Government introduced a 75% waiver on groundwater abstraction fees to encourage compliance, but the response from organisations was limited. This led LASWARCO to implement enforcement measures, including issuing notices to non-compliant organisations with a 72-hour deadline to meet regulatory requirements. Companies that failed to comply faced penalties, including the sealing of their premises and other legal actions. Wahab stressed that all efforts at dialogue and collaboration had been exhausted, making enforcement essential to ensure adherence to the law and protect the environment. ©Nairametrics

HOW DO YOU VERIFY THE REGISTRATION OF AN ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT PRACTITIONER ? In terms of our environmental laws, no person may conduct the activities of an ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT PRACTITIONER (EAP), unless they are professionally registered. An EAP is someone who conducts an EIA process, or a departmental official who reviews (and approves) of the various EIA reports. The current registration authority for EAPs is the ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT PRACTITIONERS ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH AFRICA (EAPASA). Usually during contentious EIA applications, the public or affected stakeholders may become curious (or suspicious) of the EAP and/or the EAPs registration status. An easy way to verify if an EAP is a registered EAP, is to visit the EAPASA website and perform a search on the EAP REGISTER. The EAP register will reveal the registration status of the particular EAP as well as other details.

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Do you deal with hazardous substances the industrial sector? And are you working together with other partners to enhance environmental safety? Then the SVO scheme might be of interest to you! Read more about the scheme here: https://lnkd.in/eWC-M5Gi #EnvironmentalSafety #funding #IndustrialSector #HazardousSubstances 

What is an environmental consultant? Of late I have noticed the emergence of persons claiming that they are environmental consultants when a quick review of their work history indicates that they have no university qualifications in science, no history of consultancy experience, no accreditations and no affiliations with reputable associations such as EIANZ or ALGA. Like any industry, where there is potential money to be made there will always be con men ready to pounce. If you are intending on engaging an environmental consultant I urge you to read publication 1702 prepared by EPA Victoria which outlines what criteria should be met as a minimum. I am strongly in favour of the adoption of accreditations such as CEnvP as the benchmark for any persons wishing to be referred to as environmental consultants. Like all con men, these people will promise the world and deliver nothing. Their presence within our industry is undermining the entire system.

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Environmental Management plan all you need to know especially for already existing manufacturing facility according to Ethiopian Environmental protection authority #TaimoorRiaz

3 Peaks Environmental is your trusted partner for environmental regulatory services. Our dedicated regulatory team specializes in EPEA (Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act) Approval Applications, Compliance Monitoring, and Renewals. Here’s how we can assist you: 👉Secure Necessary Approvals: we guide you through the approval process, ensuring that your project meets all regulatory requirements. 👉Maintain Ongoing Compliance: our team monitors your project to ensure continued compliance with environmental standards. 👉Simplify the Renewal Process: let us handle the paperwork and regulatory updates, allowing you to focus on the success of your project. Our regulatory services can be tailored to meet your needs on a project-specific or program-specific basis, ensuring that your projects comply with all environmental regulations and approval conditions. Partner with 3 Peaks Environmental and experience peace of mind, knowing that your environmental compliance is in capable hands. We will help you achieve your project goals while emphasizing compliance and corporate responsibility. >>> 3peaksenvironmental.ca #RegulatoryCompliance #EPEAApproval #ComplianceMonitoring #EnvironmentalConsulting Photo by: Matt Mylleville

Delighted that my article on environmental impact assessments (EIAs) under our EQA 1974 has been published by the Edge, appearing also in last week's physical print. This article is largely the product of my own endeavours to try to understand why EIAs in our jurisdiction are near-impossible to judicially review and overturn, especially when there are provisions for public participation. The short answer, of which the Edge article hopes to convey, is that public participation under the EQA 1974 is disappointingly a facade. The long answer may be found here, with thanks to Rimba Watch: https://lnkd.in/g3dzhrD4 Whilst LinkedIn primarily functions as an echo chamber between us practitioners, I make this point of posting here so as to reach lawyers who are left wondering why their clients' application to try to judicially review an EIA simply failed before the courts. Unfortunately, the EQA 1974 does not welcome dissidents nor the exercise of citizenry skills. The ball is now in the Legislatures' court to remedy what is effectively a free-for-all for EIA proponents.

Last week, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a major decision which ruled that the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) does not have the authority to issue binding regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The decision from the case, 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯 𝘈𝘶𝘥𝘶𝘣𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘷. 𝘍𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘈𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘈𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘋𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦, could result in changes to CEQ NEPA Guidelines. Senior Program Manager Meredith Parkin, J.D., PMP breaks down two things you should know about this latest ruling, its potential effects, and new developments which ESA’s environmental planning experts will be monitoring. Read about it in our article: https://lnkd.in/gTcV7uAn #CouncilOnEnvironmentalQuality #CEQ #NEPA #EnvironmentalPlanning #DCCircuit #EnvironmentalRegulations