The Public Relations Officer of National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has stated that concerns raised by members of the public about the positioning of fuel stations in some parts of the country are genuine and well placed.

According to Mr. Yaro Kasambata; “the (public) concerns are genuine, communities have raised similar concerns and even if entirely based on this incident (the flooding of last week), it’s valid.”

According to him, the process of granting operational licenses to fuel station operators rested with a number of statutory bodies. It starts with the Town and Country Planning who give a permit that a piece of land is suitable for a particular use.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) role is to do an environmental assessment of the fuel station’s activities, so that it won’t harm the environment and also assess plans to mitigate any issues that may arise.

The NPA then grants a permit to construct after the Town and Country Planning and EPA reports are satisfactory. Mr. Kasambata was speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show with Bernard Avle.