Operating a church without an EPA permission is illegal.

Churches have been forewarned of their gullibility by Mr. Hope Smith Lomotey, acting Volta Regional Director of the Environmental Protection Agency, of the law's consequences for breaking its regulations.

According to him, violating the EPA's ACT 1994 (ACT 490), which makes operating without an EPA permission illegal, is punishable by fines and the complete cessation of operations.

In order to prevent the negative effects of negligence, he pleaded with Churches to acquire permissions before beginning any such initiatives, stating, "Permits grant you the right to operate within acceptable regulations."

He advised those whose properties were in existence before the EPA rule was passed to disclose and regularize their inclusion in order to avoid enforcement notices.

In a conversation with church stakeholders, including members of the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches (GPCC), the Christian Council, the National Clergy Association, Ghana (NACAG), and the National Association of Charismatic Churches, among others, Mr. Lomotey made these remarks about noise pollution and authorization-related issues.

He claimed that the EPA, the country's leading organization for managing the environment, had noted that many churches were improperly situated and had turned into hubs for noise pollution, particularly at night.

He warned anyone who work around the noise to seek medical assistance, claiming that noise at high decibel levels for eight hours per day for six months is a public health concern.

He defined noise nuisance as any loud, pointless, strange, or other sound that irritates, disturbs, injures, endangers, or diverts attention from a person's comfort, rest, health, tranquility, or safety.

Apart from hearing loss caused by noise, loud noise exposure, according to Mr. Lomotey, has been linked to high blood pressure, heart disease, sleep disorders, miscarriage, reduced cognitive function, stress, and potential changes in the circadian rhythm (sleep cycles).

Noise was the second-largest environmental cause of health issues, right behind the effects of air pollution (particulate matter), according to some World Health Organization (WHO) data.

The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Director stated that the maximum acceptable ambient noise for residential areas is set at 48 decibels at night (10pm-6am) and 55 decibels during the day (6am–10pm).

Therefore, he gave pastors and would-be pastors the following piece of advice: Church building projects should be carefully planned to include everything that is necessary, including noise protection.

Innocence of the law is not an excuse, according to Apostle Dr. Dela Quampah, Vice Chairman of Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches (GPCC), who was delighted that the EPA had contacted the Church to seek feedback and create a workable working relationship for their collective interest. forward.

He declared that the Church must submit to authority as instructed by the Scriptures, show respect to those who deserve it, pay taxes to those who are due them, and keep in mind to abide by EPA laws.

Apostle Quampah, who also serves as Area Head for the Church of Pentecost, exhorts the Church to uphold its political neutrality and to refrain from spreading seeds of dissension among members.

A successful collaboration with the EPA, the government's authorized agent charged with protecting the environment, he claimed, could not be viewed as adversarial since "we can reach agreements towards building a just society."

In order to lessen the threat of noise pollution, he stated the new trend of placing public address systems on church rooftops must end.

The stakeholders urged the EPA to put a human face on the 18-month renewal deadline period and lower its fines for defaulting members in order to prevent closing down the majority of churches.