Monrovia- July 23, 2020: An open letter has been written to EPA acting director, Randall Dobayou by an emerging environmentalist, Swendesen Augustine W.Sokan.

Here is the full letter below:

OPEN LETTER TO THE ACTING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA)

Mr. Randall Dobayou
Acting Executive Director
Environmental Protections Agency (EPA)

July 21, 2020

Dear Mr. Dobayou;

Ref: Concern regarding oil spillage

I present my sincere compliments and copious appreciations for the dedications coupled with your commitment in moving the EPA to another level in our history
Your zest over the month since your appointment as acting Executive Director projects a brighter future for our country and it’s environmental improvability. To all these tremendous efforts, permit me therefore to draw your attention and that of the EPA to the recent oil spills.

Mr. Director; following the recent oil spillage, you partially demonstrated your entity roles to ensuring that facts and circumstances leading to the oil spillage are established, further mentioning the launched of an environmental and social impact assessment which will inform the EPA on what method to use in disperseing the oil from the Mariane or aquatic environment.
I hope that the EPA acts in a speedy manner being cognizant of the dangers oil spillage have on our Marine and aquatic ecosystems and how it impeeds the survivability of our aquatic species.
Mr. Director; oil spillage should not be seen as eerie situation in our practice, because it’s the bedrock and foundational derivations on which the field environmental study came, and taking into serious considerations the drilling and transportation of oil on the water bodies.
It’s obvious that accidentally there will be an oil spill, therefore the Environmental protections Agency since it enactments on November 26, 2002, published into handbill on April 30, 2003 and active functioning in 2006 must have taken into account response mechanism in tackling oil spillage in Liberia, but I am yet to see it, deducing from the situation at hand.

With ratified internstional treaties, the EPA at this moment must be able to save the lives of species including protected or endimic aquatic spices which lives have been endangered by the oil spillage, ensuring that their lives matter just as other creatures including we humans.

The EPA under your stewardship must act now not later in order to minimize and keep the pollution at a very low average before it escalates into a condition that will engulf us into global condemnations, though we have partially disheveled in that web.
The Environmental Protections Agency (EPA) at this critical junction must attention herself to providing awareness in nearby communities of the spillage in order to educate residents on the usage of fire and initiate water quality testing so as to avoid complexity of the current condition at hand.

With the above increptions, I therefore suggest to you and your entity to research and adapt one of the following suitable methodologies to speedily clean up the current oil spillage:

1. Using Oil Booms
   2 The use of Skimmer
2. Sorbents
3. Burning In-sutu
4. Hot water and high pressure washing
5. Manual labour

Though it’s suggested by many scientists specialized in environmental study, that oil spill should be left alone until it disperse naturally. Mr. Director this could be the suitable option to consider counting on our country economic viability, but the current climatological conditions will never permits such scientific advice for it will escalate the stations.

We all regret the situation and thereby anticipate the Environmental Protection Agency and other relevant functionaries of government to conclude findings so as to inform national decisions toward the sector and encode those for references.

Thanks, let’s keep the spirit of mutualism as our country shift a new course in wardening on environmental issues.

Yours sincerely

Swendesen Augustine W.Sokan
Emerging Environmentalist
+231886320838/776577305
ausokan1994@gmail.com / marthason1990@gmail.com