The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) says it will sanction 11 firms for violating environmental regulations in Gombe.
Alhaji Abdullahi Bindawa, the NESREA Zonal Director in charge of the North East, said on Wednesday.
Bindawa said that six of the companies would be sanctioned for failing to provide Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report on their projects.
He also said that five other firms would be sanctioned for failing to provide Environmental Impact Audit report on their facilities.
The zonal director expressed concern over the failure of firms, especially those engaged in construction work, to provide EIA for their projects.
“Many of the roads in Gombe metropolis and those in other local governments have no EIA.
“Any major development project, before commencing it, you have to do the EIA.
“The EIA statement must be done by an expert in the area of environment.
“We have NESREA-accredited consultants who are experts on environmental issues.”
He said the EIA would spell out the negative consequences the proposed project would have on the people and the environment, thereby making the necessary provision to correct the negative impact on the people.
“Many of the projects coming up in Gombe State do not have EIAs.
“So, we need to educate a lot of people on this issue.”
The zonal director advised owners of projects to ensure that the EIA was done before the commencement of such projects, to avoid the wrath of NESREA.
“Right from feasibility studies, before commencing that project, ensure that the project is covered by an EIA.
“The ideal thing is to integrate the EIA in the project. Even the contractor is not supposed to accept the project if it is not covered by the EIA,” he said.
According to Bindawa, the agency has received many complaints about damages done to buildings by some of the facilities such as telecommunication masts and other facilities.
He said the agency had been sensitising the public by establishing environmental clubs in schools and embarking on tree planting with members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), to ensure a clean and safe environment.
Bindawa further said that the agency, in conjunction with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), had carried out sensitisation activities on flood.
He advised companies to avail themselves of the 33 environmental regulations before embarking on any project, to avoid violating them.