HARPER, Maryland County – The Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia (EPA), Dr. Emmanuel K. Urey Yarkpawolo, on Wednesday, May 7, extended the agency’s nationwide environmental compliance tour to Maryland County, marking the first of its kind since post-war Liberia.
Speaking to a team of reporters Wednesday afternoon at the Maryland County Administration Building, Dr. Yarkpawolo said the EPA’s nationwide Environmental Protection Monitoring exercise is covering the entire country. He said six teams have been set up by the EPA, with five actively conducting the monitoring.
“This initiative started on May 3. We are carrying out what is referred to as the Environmental Monitoring and Compliance Exercise,” Yarkpawolo stated.
He emphasized that the operation is intended to assess the environmental status of Liberia. He explained that the EPA grants environmental permits to companies, which include specific conditions those companies must comply with.
“Our mission is to verify whether these companies are operating within the terms of their permits and in line with Liberia’s environmental laws,” he said. “We’ve also identified a number of institutions operating without any environmental permits. Those found to be in non-compliance have been shut down.”
Dr. Yarkpawolo further explained that the monitoring teams are equipped with testing kits to assess water quality in areas where companies are operating, particularly in mining zones. The effort is aimed at generating national environmental data and understanding the state of the country’s natural resources.
According to him, the southeastern leg of the compliance tour began in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County, moved into Grand Kru County, and has now reached Maryland County. The tour is expected to continue in River Gee County and climax in Sinoe County. There, the government will break ground on a $10 million U.S. coastal revetment defense project aimed at preventing sea erosion in Greenville, particularly along the historic Mississippi Street.
“The groundbreaking ceremony for the coastal defense project is scheduled for later this May,” Dr. Yarkpawolo announced.
He noted that his role on the tour includes holding high-level meetings with county superintendents and representatives from various government agencies, including the Ministries of Mines and Energy, Agriculture, and the Forestry Development Authority.
“We are bringing stakeholders together to hear their concerns and understand the environmental challenges they are facing at the county level,” Yarkpawolo told reporters.
He emphasized the importance of strengthening collaboration with line ministries and local institutions, saying this is a major focus of the EPA during the tour.
As part of the trip, Dr. Yarkpawolo and his team also met with the administration, faculty, and students of the Department of Environmental Science at Tubman University, led by university president Dr. Olu Q. Menjay. The discussions focused on collaborative strategies to prevent land degradation.
He highlighted the critical role of community residents in reporting illegal mining, deforestation, and construction on wetlands as a way to support enforcement of environmental laws.
Dr. Yarkpawolo raised alarm over the serious threat posed by sea erosion to the Port of Harper, warning that, if unaddressed, the facility could be washed away within the next 10 years.
He disclosed that Tubman University has granted the EPA a parcel of land for the establishment of a regional office, strengthening the agency’s presence and operations in the southeast.
“We need to have a regional office in Maryland County, along with a testing lab, so we can collect samples locally,” Yarkpawolo said during an interview on Radio Phoenix 102.7 Wednesday evening. “The university is the fulcrum of this area, and we look forward to collaborating with its faculty and students.”
Yarkpawolo further explained that only “Class B” miners who have obtained EPA permits and licenses are authorized to use heavy equipment such as escarp-victors, and even then, only under strict environmental guidelines. Traditional miners, he added, are restricted to using shovels and human labor, without the use of EPA-monitored machinery.
He acknowledged that the EPA has not had offices in Grand Kru, River Gee, or River Cess counties since its creation, but his current tour is intended to support the agency’s decentralization agenda and ensure its presence is felt across the country.
He confirmed that several non-compliant entities have been shut down in other counties as a means of setting a precedent for enforcement.
Finally, Dr. Yarkpawolo attributed the recent increase in violent storms in southeastern Liberia to the effects of climate change. These events, he noted, have resulted in the loss of lives, destruction of homes, and damage to public infrastructure, including the Fish Town Sports Stadium in River Gee County.
He said communities’ vulnerability to climate change stems largely from illicit mining, logging, and forest degradation.
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