The Cockpit Country mining issue has taken another twist with the National Planning and Environment Agency (NEPA) saying that the environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the Cockpit Country is flawed.
The Prime Minister had only 3 weeks earlier assured Jamaicans that the required EIA had been done. NEPA’s declaration would not make the flawed document something that the Prime Minister (nor the country) can hold as being valid.
Almost three weeks after Prime Minister Andrew Holness assured the country that the requisite environmental impact assessment (EIA) had been done for the Cockpit Country, the National Planning and Environment Agency (NEPA) has determined that the document in question is flawed.
The NEPA, in a release on Tuesday, advised that “in light of the intense public interest concerning the status of the mandated EIA report for the proposed mining operations for Special Mining Lease (SML) 173 in St Ann and Trelawny by Noranda Jamaica Bauxite Partners II, the NEPA wishes to advise the public that a draft EIA report was received from the consultants – Conrad Douglas and Associates Limited during July 2019.
“The preliminary review of the report is under way, specifically to gauge its compliance with the agreed terms of reference (ToR) jointly developed by the critical agencies of the government, namely NEPA, the Forestry Department, the Jamaica National Heritage Trust, the Water Resources Authority, and the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, and the consultants.
“The NEPA has determined that the ToR has not been properly complied with, and as such, the EIA report is not ready for the widest circulation.
Additionally, further public consultation has been mandated. ”The NEPA further advises: “An EIA is conducted at the early stage of a development project as a multi- disciplinary tool and approach to determine feasibility and impact of the project on the environment.
thumbnail courtesy of jamaica-gleaner.com
