SUBMISSIONS ON THE KILIFI COUNTY ENVIRONMENT (REGULATION AND CONTROL) (AIR QUALITY REGULATIONS) 2018

Natural Justice submitted a set of recommendations to the County Government of Kilifi to improve the 2018 draft Air Quality Regulations. The organization argues for the inclusion of more stringent penalties, the removal of exemptions for contaminant discharge, and the requirement that the County Director of Environment (representing NEMA) be involved in notifications and monitoring to ensure transparency and compliance with national laws and the Constitution of Kenya.

• The definition of "Air Pollution" in the draft regulations is too narrow because it only lists contaminating substances and excludes the actions or events that cause the pollution.
• Draft Regulation 6 is viewed as inconsistent with the Constitution of Kenya and the Environmental Management and Coordination Act (EMCA) because it grants the Chief Officer sole power to receive notifications, whereas the County Director of Environment should also be involved to ensure consultation and cooperation.
• Natural Justice recommends the total elimination of exemptions for discharging contaminants into the air to prevent the abuse of the law and protect the right to a clean and healthy environment.
• The draft regulations lack sufficient deterrents; Natural Justice proposes hefty fines, such as one million shillings, and imprisonment terms of 5 to 10 years for various offences, including unauthorized contaminant discharge and emission dilution.
• To ensure compliance and transparency, monitoring reports and emission declarations should be submitted to both the Chief Officer and the County Environmental Officer (NEMA), rather than just the Chief Officer.
• Certain sections of the draft regulations (specifically Regulations 14 and 18) use technical terms that are too complex for ordinary citizens and require plain English definitions in the interpretation section.
• The current penalty structure in Regulation 26(4) is criticized for being non-uniform and too lenient for natural persons, which may lead offenders to pay fines rather than follow the precautionary principle.
• The blanket punishment provided in Regulation 40 is considered inadequate because it does not account for the varying seriousness of social, economic, and environmental consequences of different air pollution incidents.

APA

Tsofa, J. K. (2019). SUBMISSIONS ON THE KILIFI COUNTY ENVIRONMENT (REGULATION AND CONTROL) (AIR QUALITY REGULATIONS) 2018. Natural Justice. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/NJ_Laws_Kilifi-County_Comments-on-the-Kilifi-Draft-Air-Quality-Regulations_FINAL-comments_2019.05.09.pdf

Chicago

Tsofa, Justus Kithi. SUBMISSIONS ON THE KILIFI COUNTY ENVIRONMENT (REGULATION AND CONTROL) (AIR QUALITY REGULATIONS) 2018. Natural Justice, 2019. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/NJ_Laws_Kilifi-County_Comments-on-the-Kilifi-Draft-Air-Quality-Regulations_FINAL-comments_2019.05.09.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Tsofa |first1=Justus Kithi |title=SUBMISSIONS ON THE KILIFI COUNTY ENVIRONMENT (REGULATION AND CONTROL) (AIR QUALITY REGULATIONS) 2018 |publisher=Natural Justice |date=8 May 2019 |url=https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/NJ_Laws_Kilifi-County_Comments-on-the-Kilifi-Draft-Air-Quality-Regulations_FINAL-comments_2019.05.09.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{tsofa2019submissions, author = {Tsofa, Justus Kithi}, title = {{SUBMISSIONS ON THE KILIFI COUNTY ENVIRONMENT (REGULATION AND CONTROL) (AIR QUALITY REGULATIONS) 2018}}, publisher = {Natural Justice}, year = {2019}, month = may, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/NJ_Laws_Kilifi-County_Comments-on-the-Kilifi-Draft-Air-Quality-Regulations_FINAL-comments_2019.05.09.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }