GVL Palm Oil Mill Pollutes Town

August 31, 2024

GVL Tarjuwon Mill — An elevated view of GVL's mill in Tarjuwon, Sinoe.

Top: Smoke billows from the chimneys of GVL’s palm oil mill in Tarjuwon, Sinoe County in June 2024. The DayLight/Derick Snyder

By Esau J. Farr and Derick Snyder

WIEH TOWN, Sinoe County – For nearly 10 years, residents of Wieh Town have endured a pattern of pollution associated with a Golden Veroleum Liberia (GVL) palm oil mill.

The hillside neighborhood in the Tarjuwon District of Sinoe is in the middle of palm wastes produced by the giant-sized mill. At the front of the town stands the mill itself. On the left are three large ponds of the mill-generated effluent or wastewater. On the right and rear are thousands of palm bunches whose nuts the facility turns into crude palm oil.

The smoke from the mill fogs the town, according to locals. The wastewater from the facility pollutes creeks residents once used for drinking, turning a large stream green. The ponds holding wastewater ooze a foul odor like a septic tank. Swarms of flies buzz across the community, attracted by the empty palm husks whose foul odor overwhelms locals.

“No more safe drinking water for us here,” said Levi Jarteh, General Town Chief of Lower Kulu Clan, where Wieh Town is located. “The chemical GVL is using is going into the creeks polluting them and because of that, we no longer use them to drink.”

Jarteh’s and other townspeople’s comments are largely consistent with GVL’s recent environmental audit report, documenting pollution of the mill’s operations. Water samples tested positive for excessive phosphate levels, a chemical compound that can cause human kidney disease. The tests, cited in the report, also show illegal levels of substances and particles.

GVL started to build the mill in 2015 and completed it a year later. It can process 80 metric tons of palm nut bunches per hour but produces 40 metric tons per hour. Two huge 2,000-metric-ton tanks and a smaller one are the facility’s most vivid components with a network of chimneys. Between 2020 and 2021 GVL exported 37,534 metric tons of crude palm oil valued at over 31.7 million, according to the Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (LEITI), citing the latest available company data.

Ophelia Kumon, a resident of Wieh Town, uses a bucket attached to a rope to draw water from the well of an unfinished hand pump in Wieh Town. The DayLight/Esau J. Farr

But behind the mill’s glamorous profile lies a history of landgrab and violence. In 2013, GVL did not get the Lower Kulu Clan’s consent before developing its plantation and constructing the mill.

So, Lower Kulu filed a complaint with the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), the body that writes the rulebook for the global oil palm industry. GVL is a member of the RSPO through its parent company, the Singapore-listed Golden Agri Resources through the US-based Verdant Fund LP.

Three large ponds of wastewater pollute the air and water in Wieh Town. The DayLight/Derick Snyder

The RSPO ruled in favor of the locals, ordering GVL to halt works on the mill until it signed an MoU with Tarjuwon, this time including Wieh Town and other Lower Kulu communities.

GVL’s appeal of the decision was denied. Subsequently, it quit the certification scheme and reentered shortly. It violated that order by continuing to construct the mill, clearing additional forests and building new homes for its workers.

The Liberian government has taken no actions against the company, despite its agreement requiring it to comply with the RSPO’s rules. The former Director General of the National Bureau of Concessions, Edwin Dennis, said he was unaware of RSPO’s decisions against GVL.

Buzzing flies

The land grab, which has left an everlasting scar on Lower Kulu communities, is compounded by the pollution from the mill. GVL uses the husks and wastewater for organic fertilizer. A plant breaks down the palm wastes with water and chemicals and then applies a mixture to the palm trees. However, rainwater mixed with wastewater and most likely runoff from palm husks enters watercourses, the audit found.

This outcome is a stark contrast to the past. Palloh Hill, where the mill stands, was believed to host the spirits of the ancestors of Lower Kulu. People consulted the hill for a good harvest and other things. Similarly, Sleni Creek was believed to give women children in addition to being the source of water in the vicinity. Now both landmarks are being used as part of GVL’s irrigation system, supplying water to palm nurseries.

Amid these issues, GVL has failed to provide hand pumps for the people here. It has been over three years since GVL began to build it, according to locals. This violates GVL’s environmental permit and MoU with Tarjuwon, which requires the company to build hand pumps in affected communities with over 150 people.

“Since GVL could not complete the hand pump… and we did not have any water to wash with or drink, we decided to use it as a well, instead of hand pump,” said Ophelia Kumon, a resident of Wieh Town. She spoke at the unfinished hand pump just a stone throw from the back of the mill. She and other residents use a bucket attached to a rope to draw water from the well.

Levi Jarteh is the General Town Chief of the Lower Kulu Clan in Tarjuwon District, Sinoe County. The DayLight/James Harding Giahyue

But safe drinking water is not the only issue. Swarms of flies are also another nightmare for Wieh Town. Buzzing flies enter homes and sit on villagers’ foods threatening their health.

Though the open wastewater attracts flies, the largest swarms of the insects are mainly attracted to the palm husks. They contain hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur, scientists say. While the other gases are odorless, sulfur smells like rotten eggs, apparently explaining why it attracts so many flies. The environmental audit found that wastewater was likely to emit a gas with a foul odor that was harmful to the people and the planet.

“We are really suffering here. The fly situation is now worse to the extent that you have to buy fly [repellent] to be on the safe side,” Jarteh said.

“The rain is coming and the flies will be on our food and we will have to eat it,” he added.

‘By the grace of God’

Smoke from the mill is yet another problem, according to residents. Townspeople said at times they did not recognize the person next to them.

“Sometimes when GVL puts the machine on, there is certain smoke that comes out which can spread over the whole town,” Robert Maye, a resident of Wieh Town said. “It smells so bad to the extent that if you don’t have strong resistance, you can’t live in this town. It is affecting us greatly.”

The DayLight could not independently verify that claim and another regarding noise pollution. However, elevated images shot by a drone show white smoke billowing persistently from the chimneys of the facility, something the audit uncovered. It also said the mill discharged thick, black smoke that lasted about five minutes.

GVL sidestepped direct questions The DayLight posed to it on the issues. However, in a press release after the newspaper published two investigations regarding the company’s operations, GVL claimed it took pollution and communities’ grievances seriously.

GVL uses empty palm husks for fertilizer. However, residents backed by an environmental audit report say palm wastes pollute their environment. The DayLight/James Harding Giahyue

“We also ensure that water testing is done annually by an independent party as required by EPA regulations,” the release said. “Recent assessments conducted in 2023 and 2024 did not identify any issues.”

But the environmental audit report proves those claims are false and misleading. Like the pollution issue, the report found GVL did not address locals’ complaints, urging it to take urgent actions.

In Wieh Town, residents continue to brace themselves as their pollution war wages on.

Jarteh said, “We are just surviving by the grace of God.”

The Green Livelihoods Alliance (GLA) provided the funding for this story. The DayLight maintained editorial independence over the story’s content.

ArcelorMittal Yet to Restore Wetland, Violating EPA’s Order

June 25, 2024

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Top: One of several sewage lines ArcelorMittal uses to dump feces in a wetland used by local farmers. The DayLight/Franklin Nehyalor

By Franklin Nehyalor

YEKEPA, Nimba County – ArcelorMittal Liberia (AML) has not completed an Environmental Protection Agency recommendation to restore a wetland the company degraded and polluted in Yekepa, according to an EPA report.

The steel company was mandated to reinstate 9.33 acres of wetland that it polluted with human feces, according to the report published in March this year but recently obtained by The DayLight.

The EPA investigation was commissioned after residents of Area Q, S1, and Liagbala—three communities mainly affected by the pollution—erected a roadblock in February this year for “the constant habit of (AML) dumping employees’ feces into their communities.”

The investigation corroborated the communities’ accusation. It found that the company’s sewage plant had contaminated groundwater in the area after two tests.

“The result of the analysis shows that iron, phosphate and e-coli were above permissible limits in both ground waters samples,” the EPA report said. E. coli for the Escherichia coli bacterium, iron and phosphate in water cause diarrhea, stomach cramps, occasional fever for people, and low dissolved oxygen for fish.

ArcelorMittal dumps human feces into a wetland in Yekepa, Nimba County, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The DayLight/Franklin Nehyalor

ArcelorMittal continues to violate EPA’s orders.

On April 17, 2024, about a month after the report, police arrested an ArcelorMittal tanker transporting 7,200 gallons of feces from Buchanan, Grand Bassa County to Yekepa, Nimba County.

In a statement seen by The DayLight, Prince Moore, AML’s tanker driver, told police that he was dispatched on April 16 to collect sewage waste from Buchanan to Yekepa by the transport office of ArcelorMittal.

But the EPA, the government agency that authorizes the transport of hazardous wastes or substances in or out of Liberia, said it was unaware of the transport. “The EPA did not give AML any permit to transfer sewage waste from Buchanan to Yekepa,” Danise Dodoo, EPA’s head of media and corporate communications, said in an email reply.

ArcelorMital’s failure to obtain approval to transport the sewage waste violates the Environmental Protection and Management Law of Liberia, punishable by a fine of not more than US$50,000 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 20 years, or both.

The headquarters of the Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia(EPA). The DayLight/Mark Newa.

The EPA March 6 report was the second of two assessments by the agency regarding ArcelorMittal’s degradation of biodiversity in Nimba. In June 2022, an EPA assessment found the steel company guilty of environmental pollution and soil degradation in three communities in Yekepa after Nimba Mom-Waa, a local advocacy group that represents the affected communities, filed a complaint with the agency. The group had identified alleged environmental pollution and soil degradation and asked the EPA to investigate the matter.

After a thorough assessment, the EPA imposed a four-part fine on ArcelorMittal, totaling US$110,000 for breaking Liberia’s environmental laws.

The 2022 report also outlined six recommendations that should have been completed, including providing compensation packages to all farmers for damages caused to crops, alternative livelihoods for farmers using the polluted portion of the wetland and repair to damaged sewage lines. The recommendations included the construction of a water treatment plant and the provision of at least one treated drinking water source in each of the three affected communities.

But Alex Paye, the executive director of Nimba Mon-Waa, told this paper that the water treatment plant is nonfunctional and AML is yet to provide treated water units in the affected communities.

“The company still buys minerals [water] from an Indian company for its employees while our people suffer,” he said.

Restoration of the wetland should have been completed in a hundred days and the repair of broken sewage pipes from residential and office buildings hosting the company and its workers, in 60 days.

A septic tank that AML uses to dispose of feces in a nearby wetland with tree crops. TheDayLight/Franklin Nehyalor

The March recommendation also included the construction of water treatment units for communities in sixty days, as of the date of the release of the March 6, 2024 report.

Friday, June 21, 2024, makes the count exactly 105 days since the recommendations.

Winston Daryoue, AML’s Communication Manager, said the company is making efforts to address these issues.

“ArcelorMittal Liberia is in conversation with local community members to address their queries in relation to the restoration of the wetland,” Winston wrote via email.

“We are presently carrying out the tendering process to hire a vendor for the construction of two solar water kiosks at Areas Q and S. Construction work will commence in due course.”

ArcelorMittal has implemented some of the recommendations. It paid US$16,583.53 to compensate 25 farmers whose crops were damaged by the pollution. It has also introduced alternative livelihood for those affected by the pollution and contracted a company to repair and maintain its sewage lines.

This story was a production of the Community of Forest and Environmental Journalists of Liberia (CoFEJ).

The Illegal Rock Quarry Polluting Harrisburg

May 22, 2024

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Top: Z&C rock quarry, located 258 meters outside its license area, produces dust that covers everything in Harrisburg. The DayLight/Derick Snyder

By Harry N. Browne and Derick Snyder

HARRISBURG – Before the miners came to quarry rocks, Harrisburg, founded in 1841 by returned free slaves from the United States, was one of the quietest and most beautiful places in Liberia.

“Harrisburg was fine. The plants used to grow fine. When you plant potato greens, it grows fine. If you plant cassava it grows fine. The creeks were fine,” Yatta Taylor, a resident, said.

By 2012, everything began to change after Z&C Investment Company arrived. It had acquired a license to quarry rocks in this Rural Montserrado township along the St. Paul River.

In the last 12 years of Z&C’s operations, a cloud of dust the quarry produces has grayed the once pristine landscape. The resultant sound of rock explosion and crushing replaces the township’s quietude.

“The dust is suffering us here, it takes over all the crops and plants that we planted,” Taylor, who lives less than 500 meters away from the plant, told The DayLight.

“When we harvest the potato greens or cassava leaf to cook it, you have to wash it more than five times before cutting or [pounding] it to cook,” she added.

The plant operates nearly 24 hours a day, crushing rocks. Between January 2022 and April last year, it produced 126,000 cubic yards of rocks, according to an environmental audit approved by the EPA.

The environmental audit is contradictory. In its summary findings, it was inconclusive whether Z&C prevented water and air pollution in Harrisburg. However, in the details of the findings, it was conclusive that Z&C prevented water and air pollution.

Conclusive or inclusive, the report also contradicts a University of Liberia laboratory testing on Harrisburg’s water. The test shows the levels of chemicals, including phosphate, iron and manganese, were above their accepted levels. Manganese, for instance, can cause problems with memory, attention and muscle movements.

Ansumana Environmental Consultancy Inc., the Paynesville firm that conducted the audit, did not respond to queries for comment.

But satellite images and evidence of pollution reporters gathered are consistent and contradict the environmental audit report’s findings.

The images from Google Earth, which provides a three-dimensional representation of the planet, reveal that Z&C’s quarry plant operates outside its license area. The Chinese-owned company initially obtained its license in 2012, covering 50 acres of land. However, the images show that the quarry plant is at least 258 meters outside its license area.

Up: A satellite image shows Harrisburg’s green landscape before Z&C Investment Corporation arrived in 2012. Here: A satellite image shows rock mining and quarrying changed the landscape 11 years later. Picture credit: Google Earth

Z&C did not grant The DayLight’s request for an interview.

‘Can’t sleep’

Reporters filmed a huge cloud of dust released into the air and the St. Paul River nearby. Earthmovers, which Z&C’s workers used to transfer and transport crushed rocks, create dust. Noise from those activities and the quarrying plant pierced throughout the township.

Generally, a rock quarry plant produces noise pollution up to 116 decibels, according to a 2015 study. Noise pollution is any unwanted sound that affects the health and well-being of humans, according to scientists. Sound leads to noise when it exceeds more than 85 decibels.

Noise pollution leads to some serious health issues, scientists say. It leads to hearing impairment heart problems, sleep issues, heart blood pressure, and poorer work and school performance. It affects every person but the worst of them are children.

The study found that trucks produce up to 114 decibels, shovels and bulldozers 103 decibels and 116 decibels, respectively, while the grader produces 105 decibels.

“We cannot sleep when Z&C Investment Company say that they are ready to work for true…we can’t sleep,” Sarah Swaray, the chairlady of Harrisburg, said.

Z&C Investment Company’s quarry produces a cloud of gray dust, which spreads throughout Harrisburg. The DayLight/Harry Browne

Swaray said at least five trucks moved in and out of Z&C’s operational area during the day.

Z&C begins daily explosions in the early morning hours, with earthmovers drilling holes into the mine. Then ammonium nitrate, a powerful explosive, is placed in the hole and ignited. The company’s blasting site is in Joe Ricks Town, about three minutes from Swaray’s home. The two other most affected communities are the Fire Point and Displaced Camp.

Blasting

A decade of Z&C blasting has left a huge open pit in Harrisburg. Elevated images show the pit gets deeper and wider, with three layers of digging.

The environmental audit found between January 2022 and April last year, Z&C used 1,423 bags of ammonium nitrate, which releases toxic gases—nitrogen oxide and ammonia gas—into the air.

Residents have raised their concerns for the safety of their children and the health of people in the community.

A mining pit has formed after more than years of Z&C operations in Harrisburg. The DayLight/Harry Browne

“Anytime Z&C [does]… blasting, the rocks fall over [the roofs of our houses]. When you check around this environment, you can see that many houses are cracked around here,” Prince Mitchell, a youth, said.

“The scent from the chemical affects us,” Thomas Ricks, a resident of Joe Ricks Town, said. “I do suffer from fresh cool, though no one has come up to say that it is from the dust.”

Dried, muddy creeks

Clearing the mine for explosions has led to the pollution of the creeks in Harrisburg. The Daylight reporters filmed earthmovers backfilling a valley through which a nearby stream flows.

The creeks in Harrisburg were a source of livelihood for many years. People used them for washing, cooking, drinking and other things. Now, no one uses them anymore. Other creeks have dried up.

Sarah Swaray, Chairlady of Harrisburg. The DayLight/Harry Browne

“They have closed the creeks that we normally drink from. They have spoiled everything,” said Kool J. Manyago, a resident.

The vibration from the explosions is also a worry for residents and their residencies. Many homes have developed major cracks due to the heavy blasting. Some of the cracks run from the roof to the floor of buildings.

As a result of the explosion and vibration, a family abandoned their home. They used to live close to mine, according to residents in the area. The house built from earth bricks finally fell to the ground. Debris of the home that are still visible among a bush.

“I am thinking in times to come what will become of [the pit they have dug here],” Elizabeth Kerkula, another resident said. Will the company be able to cover that hole? Will it be safe for others that will be living here…?

“I want the government to look at it.”

[Derick Snyder, Matenneh Keita and Charles Gbayor contributed to this report]

The United States Embassy provided funding for this story. The DayLight maintained editorial independence over the story’s content.

EPA: Supreme Court Denies Wilson Tarpeh’s Petition

April 24, 2024

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The Supreme Court of Liberia — Police officers at the Supreme Court of Liberia

Top: The Temple of Justice in Monrovia. The DayLight/James Harding Giahyue

By Emmanuel Sherman

Monrovia – The Supreme Court of Liberia has denied Wilson Tarpeh’s claim to a seven-year tenure as head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of Liberia.

In March, the court issued a writ of prohibition against Dr. Emmanuel Urey Yarkpwolo who was appointed by President Joseph Boakai as Interim Executive Director of the EPA.

Tarpeh, who was appointed in October 2020 as head of the environmental agency by Former President George Weah, argued he was entitled to the tenure. However, the Supreme Court disagreed over the absence of a policy council, a body that vets and qualifies a tenured head of the EPA.

“In the absence of the formation of, and a recommendation from, the Policy Council, the appointment of the petitioner by former President Weah was an interim appointment for which tenure is inapplicable,” the high court said in a Wednesday ruling.

The EPA Act grants the President of Liberia the power to appoint an “interim executive director” in the absence of a Policy Council, which President Boakai recently appointed. The Act provides that the council will then recommend the Executive Director from a list of three individuals.

The court also ruled that Tarpeh was further barred from continuing as head of the EPA because of an Executive Order issued by Former President Weah in November last year.

“The petitioner served in an interim executive director capacity at the EPA, his removal aligned with Executive Order 123,” the Court said.

EPA Orders Miners to Pay US$16K Over Illegal Acts

March 4, 2024

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Top: The headquarters of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Tubman Boulevard in Sinkor. The DayLight/Mark B. Newa

By James Harding Giahyue

MONROVIA – The Environmental Protection Agency has ordered a mining company to pay a combined US$15,998 for operating without an environmental permit, and a restoration plan for its mines.

Quezp Mining Company ran two mines in Brewerville and Royesville for nearly two years without the permit, the EPA said in a report following a preliminary investigation.

The investigation followed a DayLight publication, which showed Quezp had no license for a pair of zircon sand mines in the Montserrado communities.

The publication revealed the Brewerville mine had a plant where zircon sand was transported from Royesville with the involvement of residents.

The plant processed the zircon sand—a mineral used in the ceramics industry. Mineworkers placed the sand in 25-kilogram bags and then transported them elsewhere for export.

The company fled from the communities, just days after the publication.

EPA investigators found that Quezp also bought zircon sand from other places, including Banjor, a Montserrado sea erosion hotspot.

“The direct beach sand mining being carried out by the company and community has resulted in serious coastal degradation and sea erosion,” the EPA report found. “This has impacted many landed properties closest to the mining operation.

Remnants of a Quezp’s illegal mining activities in Brewerville. The DayLight/Charles Gbayor

“The company’s operation has seriously impacted the mangrove forest due to the improper disposal of its mine waste,” it said.

EPA fined Quezp US$2,999 for mining without an environmental permit. It ordered the company to present a US$12,999 plan to restore the environment where it worked, according to the report.

The report also found that the miners were less than a kilometer from the beach, impacting houses closest to its illegal operations. It said Quezp encouraged residents to engage in sand mining, outlawed since 2012 to curb countrywide coastline loss.

EPA investigators urged the agency to officially inquire about the status of Quezp’s mining licenses. The DayLight found that the company only has two zircon-sand prospecting licenses in Kpayan District, Sinoe County.

The Investigators called for mining and environmental awareness in communities across the country.

Terrence Collins, Quezp’s owner and CEO, did not immediately respond to queries.

EPA Shuts Down Carbon Deal Over DayLight’s Investigation

September 25, 2023

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The headquarters of the Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia in Sinkor. The DayLight/Mark B. Newa

By Esau J. Farr

MONROVIA – The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has disapproved of carbon credit negotiations between an American-owned company BlueEarth Capital and rural communities following an investigation by The DayLight that exposed irregularities with the deal.

“[The EPA] has thus issued an immediate resolute call to all communities involved in discussions with the company (BlueEarth) to cease all engagements without delay or risk drastic actions,” said the agency in a statement over the weekend.

“EPA’s involvement and approval are non-negotiable pre-requisites in carbon credit deals in Liberia,” it added.

The agency further expressed “profound dismay” over the ongoing illegal carbon negotiations between BlueEarth Capital and residents of Ziadue Clan, River Cess County.

The release came on the back of a DayLight story on BlueEarth’s proposed MoU with Ziadue to save carbon credits on more than 55,000 hectares of forestland.

The DayLight reported a number of illegalities associated with the proposed deal.

The investigation showed BlueEarth induced community leaders to consent to the deal by underwriting their transportation and food costs.

It proved that ordinary townspeople and some community leaders were still unaware of the deal despite emerging in March, a violation of locals’ right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC). (FPIC is guaranteed in the Community Rights Law, the Land Rights Act, and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples)

The deal sought over 55,000 hectares, more than 8,000 hectares of the uncontracted area Ziadue has.

It was illegally intended to last for 25 years, 10 more than the legal duration of a community forest contract, based on the Community Rights Law.

EPA, one of the agencies responsible for regulating the carbon industry, said it was caught unaware by The DayLight’s investigation.

BlueEarth Capital intended to capture carbon credits in more than 55,000 hectares of forestland in Ziadue Clan, Central River Cess District in River Cess County. The DayLight/Carlucci Cooper

“Their intent is to exploit these forests for carbon harvesting and subsequent trading of carbon credits on the international market,” it said. BlueEarth has also engaged communities in Nimba, Grand Cape Mount and Gbarpolu.

Ziadue Clan’s land leadership said they would now focus on getting its ancestral land deed, a process it has almost completed.

“We are customary people. What we are running after now is our confirmatory survey to get a deed from the Liberia Land Authority (LLA),” said Emmanuel Roberts, the chairman of the Ziadue’s community land development management committee (CLDMC).

“If we have anything to do with BlueEarth Capital, it will not be hidden from the national government, civil society organizations and our consultant.”

Augustine Jarrett, BlueEarth’s American owner and former presidential adviser, did not answer questions for comments on the matter. However, he defended his institution in a statement on Monday evening.

“We are deeply committed to the principles of transparency, integrity, and community engagement,” Jarrett said.

EPA Lies On The DayLight Over Chemicals Spill Story

April 29, 2023

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Top: The headquarters of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Tubman Boulevard in Sinkor. The DayLight/Mark B. Newa

By Mark B. Newa

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lied by suggesting The DayLight did not contact it for the online newspaper’s story over a spillage of chemicals from a Bea Mountain Mining Corporation (BMMC) in a river in Grand Cape Mount County more than two months ago

The DayLight had actually contacted the EPA four days before its publication on April 19, accusing the EPA of concealing the pollution, Bea Mountain’s second in two years

An analysis of EPA’s website shows EPA published the report on the spillage on April 5, 2023, more than a month after the incident. There was no press statement as done in the past. The general public remained unaware of the pollution until The DayLight’s report

But publishing the report only on its website apparently breaks the Environmental Protection and Management Law of Liberia, which requires the EPA to publish the spillage in a newspaper and broadcast it on a radio station

The DayLight has frowned on the other news outlets from publishing a press release from the EPA on the publication-concealment issue without contacting The DayLight or adding its side of the story provided in a well-circulated email

MONROVIA – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lied when it suggested The DayLight failed to contact the agency for a story on chemicals that spilled from a Bea Mountain Mining Corporation plant into a river in Grand Cape Mount County in February this year.

Over a week ago, The DayLight reported that the EPA had concealed the report on the findings of the spillage. The report found that the waste plant at the New Liberty Goldmine leaked cyanide and copper sulphate into the Marvoe Creek and further into water sources in Jikondo in the Gola Konneh District. The chemicals, used to mine gold, are dangerous to people’s health and can lead to death. The spillage is the second in the last two years and the fifth in the last decade.

After the report, the EPA issued a press release, calling The DayLight story as a “diabolical lie.” It suggested that The DayLight did not check the site or contact its communication team before publishing its story.

“The Agency encourages media houses and individuals seeking information on the workings of the EPA to check its website and or contact its media and corporate communications office for information about the agency,” The EPA said in the release.

Screenshots of an email exchange between The DayLight’s Mark B. Newa and Danise Dennis-Dodoo, the head of the EPA corporate communications office show The DayLight contacted the agency over the publication of the report on Bea Mountain’s chemicals spills.

“The EPA is stunned that an online publication that [prides itself] as a credible outlet will depart from truth-telling as a core standard of journalism to telling lies to satisfy its funders’ criteria,” it added.

But the release contradicts the facts. The DayLight had contacted Danise Dennis-Dodoo, the head of EPA’s corporate communication office, four days before the story was published. In fact, one of seven questions Mark B. Newa, the reporter who did the story had raised, concerning the publication of the report. “The agency will answer your questions and revert to your soonest,” Dennis-Dodoo said in a reply to the email at the time. Those answers have yet to come more than two weeks after this reporter’s email.

The DayLight has expressed concern over EPA’s failure to acknowledge the environmental newspaper contacted the agency. “The fact that the press release here does not mention that is defamation in itself,” said Director/Managing Editor James Harding Giahyue.

Report Concealed

The date EPA published the February 19, 2023 report—and other documents on the website—is not reflected. However, The DayLight analysis of the document shows it was published on April 5, 2023. That was more than a month after the pollution.

Following last year’s spillage, the EPA issued three different statements. One booked Bea Mountain for that spillage, one reaffirmed its findings, and another dramatically cleared the company of any wrongdoing. All those statements were posted on Facebook, a preferred medium of communication for Liberians at home and abroad.

Unlike last year, the EPA made no public statement on the current spillage, which apparently indicates the agency tried to keep the spillage out of the public glare. The pollution was grave and residents of affected towns and villages had been prevented from drinking from creeks in the area for at least 45 days, according to the report. It was unclear whether they are allowed to use the waterfronts now.

The EPA probably violated the law by not widely circulating the report on the current spillage. The law says the EPA may choose to publish and broadcast the spillage—pollution control, inspection and investigation, to name some—in at least a newspaper and on a radio station. The environmental law mandates the EPA to “ensure maximum participation by the Liberian people in the management and decision-making processes of the environment and natural resources.” It guarantees “environmental information and promotes disclosure for the ultimate benefit of the environment.”

But apart from that, the technical language in the report does not make it ideal for public consumption. That seemingly explains why there has been a public discourse on the spillage more than two months on.

Amid all of this, there is no public record that the EPA fined Bea Mountain for the spills this or last year. Public access to information is a right under the Environmental Protection and Management Law, while public participation is one of its guiding principles. The law also ascribes to the global “polluter pays” principle.

The report said Bea Mountain did not implement some of the recommendations from last year’s spillage but did not specify. It had called on the EPA to punish the company for violating the law and the terms of its waste permit. Bea Mountain has not commented on the spillage.

One-sided Reports

News outlets, including The News, that lifted EPA’s press release against The DayLight’s initial article failed to include the environmental paper’s side of the story. Giahyue had replied to the EPA email when it issued the press release that Tuesday. The email thread copied a horde of journalists and media institutions, including The News.

“Individuals and institutions accused in any story or a press release deserve a right of reply,” Giahyue said. “Publishing the EPA’s press release without trying to get our side is an affront to journalism.”

[CORRECTION: This version of the story corrects the previous to add the spill of 2018, making it five spills in the last decade]

Funding for this story was provided by the Green Livelihood Alliance (GLA 2.0) through the Sustainable Development Institute (SDI). The DayLight maintained complete editorial independence over the story’s content.

Bea Mountain Polluted River in Cape Mount Again, Report Finds

April 19, 2023

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Top: Investigators of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at Bea Mountain Mining Corporation’s waste plant in Kinjor, Grand Cape Mount County. Picture credit: Facebook/EPA Liberia

By Mark B. Newa

MONROVIA – Chemicals from a waste facility operated by Bea Mountain Mining Corporation (BMMC) leaked into a river in Grand Cape Mount County in February, a report concealed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), obtained by The DayLight, found.

It marks the second year in a row for the pollution to happen and the fifth time within the last decade, according to official records and The DayLight’s review of news articles.

The report, conducted the same month of the spillage but has not been published, found cyanide and copper from the plant at the New Liberty Goldmine seeped into water sources in Jikando, Gola Konneh District. It said EPA investigators saw Bea Mountain release copper sulphate from the facility into the environment. Cyanide and copper sulphate are used to mine gold and are dangerous to people’s health, and can lead to death.

“The death of aquatic species may have resulted from elevated free cyanide and dissolved copper levels due to exposure to higher than permissible limits of free cyanide,” the report said. It called on Bea Mountain to “regularly repair and upgrade” the plant according to its waste management permit. It also mandated the firm to supply villagers with food and water for 45 days after February 20, and that the period could be extended.

“No sign of life was observed in the Marvoe Creek,” according to the report. Marvoe Creek is one of the largest tributaries that connect to Mafa River, which meanders along several villages and empties into Lake Piso in Robertsport, the western county’s capital.

By polluting the environment in the area, Bea Mountain violated the Environmental Protection and Management Law of Liberia. Violators of the law face up to a US$50,000 fine upon conviction in court.

The report added that Bea Mountain collected its own sample, instead of an independent firm as the law requires. It said the lawyer of the community also extracted a sample of dead fish from the scene of the pollution.

The report said Bea Mountain did not implement all of the recommendations from the report on last year’s spillage but failed to mention specific recommendations. It called on Bea Mountain to resettle villagers living next to the waste facility amid persistent pollution.

A diagrammed drone photo of the New Liberty Mine. Picture credit: Bea Mountain Mining Corporation

“The community vowed to protest if the issue of the pollution is not adequately addressed by the government,” it said. People are migrating to other places since last year’s incident, leaving the Jikando with 250 people, according to the report. Other residents also want out, it added.

It was unclear whether the EPA notified the company of the penalties associated with the spillage, one of the things the report recommended. EPA did not immediately respond to The DayLight’s queries on why it kept the report on this year’s spillage secret. Unlike last year’s incident, there was no statement or press conference this term. The public is yet to get any information on the penalties the agencies imposed on the company at any time.

Concealing information violates the public-participation principle of the environmental law of Liberia. The principle mandates the EPA to “ensure maximum participation by the Liberian people in the management and decision-making processes of the environment and natural resources.”

Previous Spills

This year’s spillage happened 10 months after the one last year. That May, an EPA report found spillage of chemicals from the same waste facility. Pictures of a dead dog and fish due to the spillage flooded social media pages.

The EPA said in a statement at the time the company “Severely disrupted and injured the livelihood of the communities that depend on these water sources.”

Bea Mountain denied any wrongdoing, saying the report was “inconclusive and filled with analytical gaps. We are confident and particularly reaffirm our position of being in no breach of any required scientific standards,” it said in a statement at the time. The EPA then issued another statement, restating its position that a chemical compound had leaked from the company’s waste plant.

But in a dramatic turnaround, the EPA cleared the company of wrongdoing on August 8, just over two months after it found the leak. The agency said it was “pleased to inform you that all facilities tested were appreciably below the permissible level set up by the EPA.”

That was not the first spillage. There were three previous spills in 2015, 2016 and 2018. Villages said they caught rashes after using water from nearby creeks following the accident. Bea Mountain denied people sick.

In 2021, over 10,000 villagers filed a complaint with German and French banks DEG and Proparco, respectively, over 2015 the 2016 pollutions. The banks invested in the goldmine.

Efforts to contact Bea Mountain for this story did not immediately materialize. We will update the story once we get comments from the company or the EPA.

Bea Mountain Mining Corporation signed a 25-year agreement with the Liberian government on July 29, 2009. The Turkish-owned industrial goldmine is Liberia’s first goldmine. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank, invested some £5.3 million in the project.

[CORRECTION: This version of the story corrects a previous, which left out a 2018 spill to make it five in a decade]

Funding for this story was provided by the Green Livelihood Alliance (GLA 2.0) through the Sustainable Development Institute (SDI). The DayLight maintained complete editorial independence over the story’s content.

Report Accuses MOPP of Land Grab, Pollution and Labor Abuses

February 13, 2023

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Top: The entrance of the headquarters of Maryland Oil Palm Plantation (MOPP) in Pleebo Sodoken District. The DayLight/James Harding Giahyue

By Mark B. Newa

MONROVIA – The Maryland Oil Palm Plantation (MOPP) is involved in bad labor practices, land-grabbing and pollution, a new report by the nongovernmental organization the Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) alleges. It accuses MOPP of wiping out local communities’ livelihood in violation of Liberian laws.

The “Social and Environmental Impacts of Maryland Oil Palm Plantation in Liberia” report alleges the company of abusing the rights of locals to their land, and pushing them into poverty by polluting water sources and reneging on its concession obligations to develop their farms or smallholders program.

“Today, we bring you compelling revelations… an open disregard of the rights and dignity of local communities affected by MOPP,” James Otto, a lead campaigner at SDI, told a press conference marking the launch of the report.

“The SDI has worked to bring… issues impacting communities and environment, blatant violations of our laws and lack of respect for local communities on whose land whose land and resources company operates in our country,” Otto added.

SDI said it interviewed 23 people placed in 10 groups from seven communities for the report. It also interviewed the head of the local office of the EPA and local authorities, and photographs relevant places with global positioning system (GPS) coordinates.

MOPP did not answer queries for comments.

MOPP signed its concession agreement with the Liberian government in 2011 for covering 15,200 hectares of land in Maryland County and Grand Kru and worth US$230 million over the 25-year period. Owned by the Ivorian SIFCA Group, MOPP took over the ruins of Decoris Oil Palm Company, also based in the Ivory Coast after the end of the Liberia civil wars.

Following in Decoris’ footsteps, MOPP with the aid of armed police, cleared communities’ lands, destroyed their ancestral graveyards dishonored traditional shrines and sacred sites, leading to riots.

Land-grab

MOPP abused communities’ rights to their ancestral land, the report says. The company did not get the consent of of local communities—including some that legally documents—before developing its plantation. It accuses the company of illegally including 6,400 acres of land on which it is obligated to develop farms for villagers, and that the company has no individual agreements with communities.

Findings of the report are similar to a 2015 report by the Social Entrepreneur for Sustainable Development (SESDev) and Forest Peoples Programme.

“Communities have the right to a formal and legally binding agreement with the company on the use of their lands,” Otto said. “MOPP urgently needs to start negotiating and listening to communities agree on terms and conditions of a lease, provide loss and damages and give back land to communities where requested.”

“If the employee or contractor is sick or even if he/she is hurt at work it will be noted as an ‘absence’ and the day salary is not paid – or employees receive only half of their due payment,” according to the report.

Criminalization

Citing unnamed sources, the report alleges that MOPP harasses and intimated citizens.

One woman said MOPP security guards arrested and beat her daughter who they accused of stealing palm nuts. The woman said “I had to pay L$3,000 to the MOPP security to free her.” Her comments are backed by a civil society actor.

The report narrates an account of a local named Saturday Wilson, who it says has been frequently intimidated by MOPP for over a decade for a farmland in Gewloken, the town closest to MOPP’s headquarters.

“I am being threatened again and again repeatedly for the small piece of land owned by my family on which I planted palm. MOPP still wants to use the LLA agents and the court to take it away from me. As I speak, they are still after me.

Labor Issues

MOPP pays it contractors below the minimum wage (US$5.50 per day), cutting some contractors’ wages when they are sick or injured, the report alleges. The company does not permanently employ contractors even after three years.

“Contractors receive no payment for the day if production goals are not met. Production goals include the number of palms cleared of weeds as well as harvest volumes,” it says.

A new report by the Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) accuses Maryland Oil Palm Plantation (MOPP) of bad labor practices. The DayLight/James Harding Giahyue.

Pollution

The report accuses MOPP of planting in swamps, a breach of its environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA), the Environmental Protection and Management Law of Liberia, and principle of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, the global watchdog for the commodity industry.

MOPP’s mill waste and fertilizers are seeping into creeks used by locals for drinking water, it says, citing several locals.

“They planted palms in all the swamps around here. And when the palm started growing, they used to apply fertilizers and it really used to affect our water,” one says.

And another, “They are still dumping the palm butter in the Swanpken river and people downstream are finding it difficult to use the water now.”

In 2017, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fined MOPP US$10,000 for importing several chemicals into the country without acquiring the requisite approval from the agency.

Livelihoods

Communities told SDI researchers that their livelihoods have been heavily compromised due to pollution, forest degradation and a shortage of land, according to the report.

As the result, farmers have no access to herbs and firewood, forest to hunt, and waterfronts to fish, it says, adding grass the company had planted to control weeds are destroying their crops.

“Reduced access to farmland increases food insecurity and less cash crops to support family incomes. Villages literally find the oil palms on their doorsteps. They have no living space or only degraded or poor areas where they can try and provide for their families,” the report added.

“The little farmland that we secured is no longer good because we have used it over and over again,” one farmer says in the report.

The report calls on MOPP to halt its expansion until it signs memoranda of understanding with communities, pays compensation for land-grab, completes the development of the mandatory smallholders’ program.

MOPP did not reply a set of questions from The DayLight on the issues raised in the report. The company did not respond to follow-up emails.

Tag: Environmental Protection Agency

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