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EnviroServ responds to DEA’s notice of intention
EnviroServ has until Thursday to make representations as to why its Waste Management License should not be suspended and/or revoked.
ENVIROSERV‘S Group CEO, Dean Thompson, has issued a statement after the Department of Environmental Affairs issued a notice of intention to suspend and/or revoke EnviroServ’s Waste Management Licence for its Shongweni Landfill operation site on Friday.
Thompson said the notice was a surprise, but they will motivate fully why this is not necessary given the facts at hand, and in the interim they remain a compliant and legal site.
“It is unfortunate that the Department has succumbed to public opinion and has been forced to inexplicably deviate from the agreed remedial processes that we have complied with, and will continue to implement.”
“We are dismayed that our numerous detailed submissions made to the Department have not been considered and responded to. Had this occurred, we are confident that the current situation might not have arisen. We have also not received any feedback as to the Department’s investigations into other odour sources,” said Thompson.
He added that with the DEA’s permission, they had reverted to treating incoming waste to the minimum requirements standards that existed prior to the introduction of the Waste Management regulations during August 2013. He said this had been the primary cause of the recent odour problems experienced at the site.
“The revised treatment standard has immediately benefitted the situation as pH levels of the site have shown a marked improvement and will continue to do so. During last week’s visit by the DEA, officials commented favourably on the odour improvement in the treatment plant area,” said Thompson.
EnviroServ was given four calendar days from receipt of the notification to make representations as to why the Waste Management License should not be suspended and/or revoked.
Two days before the DEA issued the notice Upper Highway residents took to the streets of Dassenhoek, Kwandengezi and Shongweni to create awareness and educate residents in the rural areas about the smelly air they were breathing.
On Saturday, the Upper Highway Air NPO united to host a Toxic Trek through the streets of Hillcrest. More than 1500 residents voiced their concerns during their call for clean air. A memorandum was also handed to EnviroServ on the same day.
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