Last week, reporting on the ruling of Justice Sandil Kissoon, who heard the case brought against EEPGL and the EPA by Frederick Collins and Godfrey Whyte, Stabroek News said, “ExxonMobil’s local affiliate, EEPGL, has agreed in the permit to provide insurance and an unlimited parent company indemnity to cover all environmental loss and damage that might result from a well blowout, oil spill or other failures in the Liza 1 Development Project in Guyana’s Stabroek Block.” In his ruling, Justice Kissoon also said that “the public is entitled to know whether there has been compliance.” We view this decision by Justice Kissoon as a win for the grassroots people and the Guyanese population.
Red Thread has been doing monthly pickets. We also started a signature campaign for full liability coverage. We have been walking with the petition on the picket line for persons to sign. Some signed while some say that it is a losing battle we are fighting, but now with this ruling, we can say this is a win for all Guyanese and especially for grassroots people. The EPA is supposed to be the watchman for our environment. Yet they were sadly lacking in their obligation to make sure that Guyanese are protected and that our environment is protected. In his ruling Justice Sandil Kissoon said that the EPA has “placed the nation, its citizens and the environment in grave peril.”
Just look at the alarming rate at which Exxon Mobil and its partners are drilling for oil, going beyond their own safety limitations, dumping produced water overboard, flaring gas. And the EPA is saying nothing. Let us put a halt to this now. Why take fire stick to go looking at night what you could see in the daylight? As grassroots women who can barely feed ourselves and families, this decision comes as a sigh of great relief to us and our families. Without full liability coverage, in the event of an oil spill, Guyana wouldn’t be the only country to suffer, but the burden of the cleanup will be left on Guyana. We the taxpayers are the ones that would feel the brunt of these costs.
We thank Frederick Collins, Godfrey Whyte and their lawyers, Attorneys Melinda Janki, Seenath Jairam and Abiola Wong-Innis, for taking up this matter in the High Court. We thank all those organizations and individuals, locally and internationally, who added their voices to such an important cause (through letters, statements, protests, signing of petitions). And we thank Justice Sandil Kissoon for understanding the importance of protecting our environment, our people, our country. This decision is bigger than Guyana too, because if there is a spill it is our neighbours in Latin America and the Caribbean who will also be affected.
The EPA and the Government of Guyana should be celebrating this ruling with all Guyanese, and ensuring it is enforced. But on the same day the ruling was delivered, the Government announc-ed that it would appeal. The press release from the Attorney General’s Chambers said that “The Environmental Protection Agency and EEPGL spent almost a year negotiating a Parent Guarantee and Indemnity Agreement to the tune of US$2 billion.” And we were also told that EEPGL has assets worth about eight billion US dollars. This comes up to ten billion US dollars.
In 2010, the Deep-Water Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has so far cost about $145 billion US dollars to clean up. That is a difference of $135 billion US dollars. If the Government of Guyana wants to forward with this appeal, it should first explain to the people of this country where the remaining $135 billion US dollars is to come from. Whose side are they on? Are they Guyanese who love their country or who love money more? We call on the government of Guyana, the EPA and all other relevant authorities to stand with Guyana and all Guyanese, NOT with the oil companies. Exxon Mobil MUST abide by the laws of our country.
Now that the judge has made his decision, it is the duty of all of us to ensure that it is carried out. We should not allow anyone to come in to take all our resources, destroy our environment, our livelihood, our health in the process. These are Our Lives, Our Lands, Our Livelihoods! We should work together, not against each other to safeguard our country for future generations.
Sincerely,
Joy Marcus
Susan Collymore
Halima Khan
