NESREA threatens to sanction firms disregarding environmental laws

The Director General of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency, Dr Innocent Barikor, has warned facilities to address compliance gaps in their operations to avoid sanctions.

Barikor, who gave the warning while receiving a brief on the routine compliance monitoring carried out by NESREA across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Teritory, expressed displeasure over the flagrant disregard for laid down environmental laws by facilities.

The agency in a statement on Friday quoted the DG as saying, “We keep noticing a worrisome trend where some facilities discharge effluents without treatment, operate without the necessary environmental documents such as Environmental Impact Statement, Environmental Audit and Environmental Permit. This cannot be allowed.

“Facilities where these infractions occurred have been issued notices of compliance concerns to abate the nuisance. The agency will not hesitate to sanction any facility polluting the environment. From January till date, 75 non-compliant facilities have been shut down by NESREA, and the enforcement is a continuous exercise.”

It added that the agency has developed 36 National Environmental Regulations cutting across different sectors of the economy to ensure that activities by facilities and industries do not negatively affect the environment

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