Residents living near the
Isara-Mashuuru-Imaroro road in Kajiado have complained to Nema about alleged dumping of raw sewage in their farms by a construction firm.
Community leader Alex Ntaisi handed the complaint note against Stecol Corporation Company
to county National Environmental Management Agency (Nema) Director Peter Wafula on Wednesday morning.
Ntaisi told Wafula
their children fall sick frequently because of the dust from the construction site.
“Cooking and grazing animals have become difficult because of too much dust," Ntaise said.
A letter from Nema to Stecol dated July 16 states that inspectors visited the site. They checked the tarmac road, campsite, fueling pump, stone crusher and borrow pits.
The authority said the construction was initiated "without evidence of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) licence".
It further said Stecol did not have an effluent discharge licence, and has temporary solid waste holding points but no waste bins.
"Several borrow pits are not in use and have not been fully decommissioned, posing a danger to people and animals," the letter says.
Nema asked Stecol to have an EIA of all the pits, campsites, fueling points and stone crushers and submit it to the office in seven days.
The authority said all workers must have protective gear.
The construction company was also told to have a waste collection area. "There should be regular collection of waste, which should be disposed of
using Nema-licensed vehicles," the letter says.
The firm is also to carry out an environmental audit for all facilities that were licensed at least a year ago.
The company is also to establish a framework for environmental performance monitoring.
Reached for comment on Thursday, the construction site manager said he received the letter from Nema.
Hou Hou did not respond to the alleged violations of laws but said Stecol will obey instructions from Nema.
"I met Wafula last week. He is aware of our progress," Hou Hou said.
Wafula earlier told the Star after receiving the complaints he directed the firm to use water to minimise
dust.
“I ordered them to provide details on how and where they dispose of raw sewage, and who collects it," he said.
Wafula said by the time he got the complaints, the company had already worked on 30 km of the road.
“This is a serious issue. We may be compelled to take action against the Chinese firm if it is found to have flouted the law,” Wafula said.
Contacted by phone today, Wafula said the company had not submitted the report and the deadline had elapsed.
"I warned him [Hou] that I will take action against the company if he does not comply. These are pertinent issues," he said.