The National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) on Thursday announced that it shut down the main storage facility of a popular gas company in Kajiado County.
NEMA revealed that the facility, which trades in liquefied gas, was closed after officials noticed that it was located in a residential area contrary to Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) license conditions.
During the impromptu inspection, the gas company was directed to stop the storage of filled gas and develop a risk management plan before being allowed to continue operating.
The firm was also directed to transfer its business to commercial areas of Kitengela in a bid to conform with EPRA standards and license conditions.
On the same day, the Authority also shut down a milling facility within the same area after it was found operating without an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) license.
In the Thursday noon operation, one person was arrested with the Authority accusing him of disobeying the previous Improvement order.
Following the crackdown, NEMA officials called on Kenyans to obtain EIA licences for new projects, Effluent Discharge Licenses for discharging facilities and furnish NEMA with the compliance documents.
NEMA's latest action comes against the backdrop of a recent warning it issued vowing to take stringent action including initiating prosecution of all petrol station owners operating their establishments without emission licenses.
In its statement released on August 22, the Authority directed all petrol stations across the country to obtain emission licenses to avoid prosecution and exposure to potential closure.
The directive followed a routine inspection conducted by NEMA officials in Karen, Nairobi where it was established that some petrol stations were operating without Effluent Discharge License (EDL).
Similarly, the Authority established that other petrol stations were operating with expired licenses that required renewal.
“Some petrol stations were operating generators without the requisite emission licenses-emitting pollutants above the permitted levels in line with the air quality regulations,” NEMA noted.
"The Authority issued the non-compliant facilities with stringent improvement orders failure to which they will be prosecuted."
