Tag Archives: Environmental Laws

New environmental law is in the interest of everyone – Lagos government

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The Lagos state government has assured all residents of the state that the new environmental protection and management law is in their interest.

Steve Ayorinde, commissioner for information and strategy, said this in a statement, saying it is in line with the reforms in the environment sector “to ensure cleaner environment and public health safety in the state”.

Some civil society organisations had told Akinwunmi Ambode, governor of Lagos state, to make public the law which he signed on March 1.

The groups said the inaccessibility of the document from the relevant ministries in the state government, two weeks after it was signed, fuels suspicion that its provisions are anti-people.

But Ayorinde said the law was aimed at charting a new direction in recognition of the fact that water, sanitation and hygiene are non-negotiable requisites.

He said the rapid growth of Lagos, its dream of 24-hour economy and government financial limitations, have made it pertinent to make investor-friendly laws that will attract the desired investment into the sector.

“With the Cleaner Lagos Initiative, the government reassures all and sundry of its determination to clean the environment in our state and we are already taking the necessary steps in that direction,” he said.

“The government is aware of the complaints by well-meaning citizens over delays being experience in the area of waste collection.”

The ministry of the environment, the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) and our “sanitation gangs” are on top of the situation and will not give in to the sabotage by those who are opposed to the reforms.

Ayorinde also denied that the government demands levies before boreholes were dug for domestic purposes.

He added that only boreholes dug for commercial purposes require licence or payment and this is not a new practice as it has been in existence since “meaning that if you dig or construct to sell or for industrial use, you need location permit”.

“The position of the law today as provided in sections 253 and 259 of the environmental management and protection law as it relates to construction of borehole or well has not changed from what it used to be,” the statement read.

“First, landlords are free to dig or construct boreholes in their houses without any permit or licence, provided that the regulation on location of such borehole is followed, that is the borehole, or well must not be sited near soak away or septic tank.”

Some civil society organisations (CSOs) had accused the government

 

Source: The Cable

Governor Ambode signs new environmental bill into law, rebrands KAI.

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Akinwunmi Ambode, Lagos state governor, on Wednesday, signed an environmental bill into law.

The bill will overhaul the state’s environmental, waste management and handling practices and also harmonise all existing environmental laws.

The bill will also drive the adoption of innovative technology to tackle existing environmental problems in the state.

The new law gives Lagos State Waste Management Agency (LAWMA) the authority to review and regulate all waste management activities within the state while Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) will be rebranded and transformed into the Environmental Sanitation Corps Agency.

LASECORPS will oversee the enforcement of stringent penalties to be imposed on defaulters.

According to the governor, LASECORPS’s performance evaluations and remuneration will be tied directly to the number of actionable fines they issue for non-compliance.

“I am delighted that our bill has been signed into law. Under this initiative we have (referring to the public and private sector) worked collectively to make laws that will result in historic environmental victories,” Ambode said on Wednesday at the signing ceremony.

“Our major environmental laws are outdated and do not address our present-day challenges.

“We exist in a world where the protection and preservation of public health and the environment have evolved and are primarily driven by data. We cannot compete if our laws are based on obsolete information.

“I know that the process of change may seem daunting at first but ultimately this shows that we can achieve a lot on our own and we can join with others for the common good of Lagos State.

“We have taken everyone along the value chain into consideration from the existing PSPs, to the cart pushers and the scavengers on the landfills. Everyone will be accommodated under this new environmental scheme,” he said.

Ambode added that the new initiative would “create 27,500 new jobs and deploy over 500 vehicles during the concession period. We are bringing in the expertise of world renowned environmental groups to construct multiple engineered landfills and transform our water and wastewater treatment sectors”.

 

Source: The Cable

Agency Says Violation Of Environmental Laws, Greed Responsible For Flooding

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The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) says distortions of town planning guidelines and disregard for environmental laws are responsible for floods and environmental challenges in the country.

NIHSA’s Director-General, Mr Moses Beckley, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Friday.

“There are environmental laws and there are also town planning guidelines and restrictions.“In other words, for any town, for any place there are guidelines as to where you should construct, build or erect anything or where you should not.

“Of course there are places that are meant for building the house.

“But in a situation whereby people now disregard such restrictions and then build in the areas where they shouldn’t build, then they are looking for trouble.

“Who is to blame?

“I was in Zaria and I discovered that the river channels were tampered with, therefore, reducing the flow of the river.

“Consequently, that had a flash back which eventually flooded on the environment and affected the people staying in that environment.

“Unfortunately, most of our people tend to do these things deliberately in order to attract relief, rights, financial relief and that shouldn’t be the case, especially in these days where you have resources dwindling.

“Such release does not come regularly and then what happens to all the properties destroyed and sometime if live lost, how do you replace, so we need to be wiser and do the needful.’’

Read More:

http://guardian.ng/news/agency-says-violation-of-environmental-laws-greed-responsible-for-flooding/