By P. Vangerline Kpotoe
MONROVIA (LINA) – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of Liberia is intensifying its regulatory oversight, launching investigations into serious compliance violations by major companies, while simultaneously advancing key environmental protection initiatives.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, EPA Executive Director Dr. Emmanuel Urey Yarkpawolo confirmed that the agency has issued a Final Compliance Notice to Lonestar Cell MTN following confirmed reports of excessive noise and emissions from generators being operated at its Congo Town headquarters.
“Following a public complaint and investigation, we confirmed that generator operations at the Lonestar Cell site are negatively impacting nearby residents with noise and air pollution,” Dr. Yarkpawolo stated.
According to him the EPA has asked the company to take several steps to ensure corrective actions within ten business days.
The company is instructed to install effective silencers or relocate generator units to reduce pollution, it is also instructed to raise exhaust stacks to a minimum of 25 feet and to provide earplugs to operators and on-site security staff.
The EPA Executive Director noted that failure to comply with these measures will result in legal penalties or possible suspension of the company’s operations.
The EPA is also continuing its oversight of Sethi Ferro Fabrik Steel Factory, following a fatal explosion on February 17, 2025. A recent follow-up assessment found that while the factory had made progress—particularly in labeling compressed gas tanks and enhancing safety protocols—critical issues remain.
Among the critical issues, the EPA boss named insufficient fire safety systems, the lack of emergency exits, absence of a comprehensive emergency preparedness plan and inadequate worker training documentation.
“We acknowledge the company’s efforts to comply, but more work needs to be done to ensure the safety of staff and the surrounding environment,” Dr. Yarkpawolo emphasized.
He said while compliance enforcement takes center stage, the EPA is also advancing several major environmental initiatives, among them, he named the ongoing coastal defense projects in Sinoe and Montserrado counties to protect cities like Greenville and West Point from sea-level rise, a new carbon policy being drafted by a Liberian consultant to prepare Liberia for the international carbon market and the engagements with civil society to inform the development of a forthcoming climate change law.
Among other things, the Dr. Yarkpawolo named a nationwide forest inventory in partnership with the UNDP to assess Liberia’s carbon sink capacity, plans to develop Botanical Gardens at the University of Liberia and Nimba University to support research and showcase biodiversity, as well as the regulatory work on net metering, which will allow renewable energy producers to exchange power with LEC, potentially lowering electricity costs.
He also named the solarization of the EPA’s new headquarters and the Climate Change Laboratory at the University of Liberia as a pilot net metering initiative.
Additionally, he disclosed that the EPA is constructing a $100,000 international-standard laboratory and negotiating the potential purchase of its current office space in Mamba Point, with conditional approval from its Board of Directors.
“We remain committed to both innovation and enforcement,” Dr. Yarkpawolo said, adding, “environmental protection is not just about programs—it’s about accountability.”
