Nema now caps environmental study fees to cut costs

The national environment watchdog on Wednesday said it will a put a maximum cap on the environmental impact assessment (EIA) fees in bid to lower projects’ costs.

The National Environment Management Authority (Nema) last reviewed its EIA fee structure in September 2013 when it set a minimum of Sh10,000 or 0.1 per cent of project cost.

The agency, however, failed to set an upper limit even after its new regulation removed the previous level of Sh1 million.

“A proposed upper capping for major projects…has been forwarded to the Cabinet secretary, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources for consideration and gazettement,” Nema director-general Geoffrey Wahungu said in a statement without indicating the maximum limit.

The removal of caps has been punitive to businesses undertaking large scale projects such as those in the oil sector and those that break ground to set up greenfield investments, critical in jobs creation.

President Uhuru Kenyatta last October asked Nema to revert to the flat rate, saying the regime that has seen property developers paying fees as a percentage of the value of projects is punitive.

The EIA, which is prepared by investors and reviewed by Nema, details project’s site location, its likely impacts on the environment and remedy measures, alongside the project’s decommissioning if it has a lifespan.