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| NEMA cracks down hotels |
The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) apprehended proprietors of five prominent hotels in Kitui town for operating without the mandatory Effluent Discharge License (EDL). NEMA arrested 5 hotel owners for lacking EDLs and principal of a medical school found releasing raw sewer onto a public road. NEMA said that despite previously issued improvement orders, the business owners failed to comply with the necessary environmental standards, prompting NEMA to take decisive actions. "Our regulations are in place to protect both public health and the environment. Non-compliance will not be tolerated," NEMA said. Who were arrested? In a statement on X, NEMA announced that it had apprehended the proprietors of the businesses that did not have EDLs and those that were releasing the raw sewer into the rivers NEMA noted that the required licenses are crucial for ensuring that treated wastewater is safely released into the environment, adhering to the Water Quality Regulations. "Proprietors of Kitui Premier, Summer Oasis, Kitui Resort, Heritage, Park Side Villa hotels in Kitui town have been apprehended for operating hotels without Effluent Discharge License (EDL) that allows them to release treated waste water into the environment in line with the Water Quality Regulations. The owners had failed to comply with Improvement Orders issued previously," NEMA said. NEMA also said that during the operation, Jordan Hospital Medical College in Kitui Town was found pumping Untreated Effluent (raw sewer) onto a public road. This was illegal because the hospital had not applied for the effluent discharge license as stipulated in the Water Quality Regulations, 2006. Consequently, the principal was arrested. Kenyans react to NEMA's operations Reacting to the news of the operation in Kitui town, Kenyans on X questioned why the environmental agency was not enforcing the laws in other parts of the country such as in the protection of Nairobi River. @mt_ilgoonkaffee said: "Why do developers find it so so difficult to do these last-mile necessities after spending so much on the assets? Do cess pits become redundant when municipal sewage lines eventually reach these developments? But what about all those polluting." @MartoNjau "Let me ask, as a hotelier, the NEMA letters are important for Tourism Licence. Why are nema letters too costly to obtain than Tourism licence? This should be reviewed, some counties is charged more than county business licence before Gen Z take your path." @MalcomvonRongai "Please visit Kerugoya and check all the rivers in town, starting with the one that starts at the catholic mission." @otijamoh "What about companies releasing effluent into Rivers Athi and Mto Mawe in the Athiriver area. What about companies releasing toxic smokes that stick onto our parked vehicles at night times. Please we are assigned to death coz of this pollution."
by Elijah Ntongai
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