A Muhoroni-based agro-chemical company will be closed in 90 days if it fails to comply with environmental laws.
Agro-Chemical and Food Company has been accused of poor waste disposal and discharging industrial effluent into River Nyando. The river is the source of water for thousands of residents of Nyando subcounties and their livestock.
Residents said the disposal of waste into the river makes the water unfit for domestic use.
National Environmental Management Authority chairman John Konchella said they will shut down the company if it disobeys their directive.
“We have visited the company and thoroughly checked the samples at the point of discharge of water to the river and what we’ve noted is totally unacceptable,” he said.
Konchella served the company with the 90-day restoration order effective two weeks ago.
“The most recent laboratory test availed by a Nema-accredited laboratory has put it in biological oxygen demands at 474 milligrams against the required level of 30 milligrams per litre. The chemical demands stand at 632 against required standards of 50 milligrams per litre,” he said.
The results are worrying because the aquatic life in River Nyando and Lake Victoria is being damaged.
“We are carrying out the exercise countrywide. We have so far closed 37 factories for violating environmental laws,” he said.
Muhoroni MP Onyango Koyoo accused the company of discharging industrial effluent directly into River Nyando.
Koyoo said a February 22 letter to the company from constituency manager Sospeter Ngere cited poor compliance with environmental regulations.
The MP said the company has also been accused of skewed hiring and awarding of tenders.
Residents have complained of its lack of corporate social responsibility and community involvement.
