Authority announces environment audit for Lae

THE Conservation and Environment Protection Authority will conduct an environment audit of companies in Lae to check if they are complying with their environment permit conditions.

The authority’s managing director, Gunther Joku, said a team accompanied Minister for Environment, Conservation and Climate Change John Pundari to Lae to conduct compliance monitoring on the manufacturing industries and their wastewater discharge systems.

Joku said the visit was prompted by complaints in Lae city and the landowners of the Malahang industrial area over pollution.

“As part of the environment compliance and audit of the permit holders, a number of industries were visited including the plastic manufacturing industries, fishing industries, Niugini Table Birds, and others in Lae,” he said.

Joku said the team also visited Water PNG Limited’s Lae city wastewater treatment facilities.

“The team discovered that a number of industries including manufacturing industries are operating without a valid environmental permit – and that is a breach of Environment Act,” he said.

“These industries will be put on notice to explain why they are operating without a valid Environment Permit.

“They need to apply for an environment permit within a given time.”

Joku said further compliance monitoring would be done including full environment audits of existing permitted operations.

Source: The National
Photo: Ramu Mine