CLARIFICATION ON REPORTS ABOUT THE AIR POLLUTION WITHIN THE TILENGA PROJECT AREA
The high levels of dust being experienced at the moment within the communities surrounding the TILENGA project Industrial Area are an outcome of the prolonged dry spell, accompanied by very strong winds affecting not just Kasenyi village but Buliisa district as a whole.
Background
TotalEnergies EP Uganda, through its contractor Mota-Engil Uganda commenced site preparation activities for the Industrial Area in Kasenyi village, located in Ngwedo Sub-County, Buliisa District.
The site preparation activities which include bush clearing, fencing, construction of drainage and internal roads are aimed at preparing the site for the establishment of an Industrial Area that will host the Tilenga Central Processing Facility, yards and camps. The site preparation activities are expected to be concluded by mid-2022.
Mitigation measures
It is important to note that before the start of the site clearance activities at the Tilenga Industrial Area in May last year, an environment and social impact assessment was undertaken to identify potential impacts of the project activities.
Some of the issues identified included noise, dust, and pollution. Since then, mitigation measures have been put in place to mitigate these impacts as below.
Mitigation measures in place since the start of the site preparations
• Our contractors use water bowsers daily to suppress the dust around the project area. To mitigate this issue, we have increased the rate of water sprinkling from about 9,000m3 in December 2021 to 14,000m3 in March 2022, this enhanced our efforts in dust suppression.
• We also practice Vehicle pooling to reduce on the vehicle movements inside and out the operational areas
• In addition to the regular inspections, the Monthly internal audits, the 3rd party audits (including Contractors’) that we share with the Regulator, Annual Regulatory audits are also carried out within the area to check compliance as per the regulatory requirements.
• We have also enforced low speed limits for vehicles and Non-Road Mobile Machinery (NRMM), such 10 kilometers speed limit per hour (kph) within the industrial areas and 40KPH within the Tilenga project area, outside the industrial area.
• We are also working to ensure the timely execution of project activities to minimize any due to prolonged project activities
• We conduct Sound community engagements and sensitization on project impacts and solutions in place, as well as toll free line for the members to report any project activities related grievances
• Greening of the stockpile is ongoing to further minimize dust emissions
Mechanisms to ensure contractors are fully compliant
• H3SE compliance is a key requirement for our contractors. There are set H3SE Key Performance Indicators attached each contractor for which we expect strict adherence
• We ensure vigilance through regular monitoring and supervision of all our contractor activities, the reports are shared with the regulator
• We continue to undertake periodical trainings and awareness sessions with contractors to ensure continued adherence to the HSE compliance standards
Redress is available for persons affected by dust emissions and cracks in their houses?
• All facilities within the project buffer zone have been inspected by an independent party. Conditions of each facility have been recorded in house and crack surveys. This is a continuous process also done by our inhouse teams to ensure that any impacts are captured and addressed
• In addition to the usual engagements and community awareness sessions, we continue to work together with the local leadership to monitor impacts to the community to be able to quickly and capture and set mitigation measure as soon as possible.