.jpg)
DPP Paula Llewellyn - FILE PHOTO
The Director of Public Prosecutions has revoked the general fiat that had been granted to to two state agencies in relation to the prosecution of cases concerning environmental breaches.
DPP Paula Llewellyn also reiterated that her office has taken over the prosecution of all cases relating to environmental breaches that were previously being handled by the agencies.
The development stems from the controversial decision of the National Environment & Planning Agency and the Natural Resources Conservation Authority last November to end prosecution of Trade Winds Citrus for a December 2023 oil spill in the Rio Cobre.
The agencies ended prosecution after signing a confidential agreement with the company.
The agreement was reached without the knowledge of the DPP's office or the responsible ministry.
The decision sparked outrage among environmental groups who sent a letter to then Acting DPP Claudette Thompson last December, seeking an investigation into the matter.
Ms Llewellyn says since then, her office has committed to providing periodic training exercises for NRCA and NEPA in relation to best practices in prosecution and other areas.
Additionally, an Assistant DPP and two other crown counsel will provide guidance to the agencies at the investigating and evidence gathering stages as well as in relation to the decision to prosecute.
The DPP revealed that, since then, NEPA has been invited to apply for a fiat to prosecute on a case by case basis.
She added that any fiat, if granted, will be on condition that the actual prosecution be handled by a Clerk of Court or a crown counsel assigned by the DPP.
In the meantime, the DPP's office has obtained a guilty plea in one of seven matters it had taken over from NEPA and the NRCA.
Azuri Chemicals pleaded guilty on Friday to the development and construction of a facility for the storage of hazardous materials, toxic chemicals and other similar substances contrary to Section 9(2) of the Natural Resources Conservation Authority Act.
The Company was fined $50,000, the maximum fine
prescribed under the Act.
This year, that law was amended and the fine increased to five million dollars or five years imprisonment, but this decision is not retroactive.
All feeds
