JET founder and director Diana McCaulay - file photo
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Diana McCaulay and EIA consultant Dr. Conrad Douglas
Environmentalists were left fuming after Tuesday's public consultation on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for proposed bauxite mining by Noranda Bauxite Partners in the vicinity of the Cockpit Country.
The consultation was held Tuesday evening using a mix of virtual and in-person participation in relation to the planned activities under a special mining lease.
However, it has been described as a farce and the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) wants the EIA to be rejected.
JET founder and director Diana McCaulay said there was a clear bias on the part of the consultant, Conrad Douglas and Associates.
"The pro-bauxite mining stance of the EIA consultant was breathtakingly clear. I mean, the meeting even started with a public relations video from Noranda and the EIA consultant spent quite a bit of time discussing all the benefits of bauxite mining without any adequate mention of the cost," she contended.
Ms McCaulay said publicity for the event was very poor.
She also noted that some questions were ignored by the organisers.
She explained that if a participant wanted to register an objection or state a lack of understanding, such statements were not allowed.
According to the environmentalist, the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) failed to play its role in the consultation.
"I do not think it met the standards for public consultation," she said, pointing to a lack of due process on the part of NEPA. "In my opinion, they have required the public consultation and they are the ones who are there to determine whether its objective is reached - which is to go through the environmental impacts of whatever developments - and they don't intervene. So, I don't think they are requiring what their own guidelines say," she added.
Mine or close
EIA consultant Dr. Conrad Douglas has said Noranda Bauxite will have to close if mining in the proposed areas of Trelawny and St. Ann is not allowed.
"If there is no mining in SML (Special Mining Lease) 173, it simply means that Noranda does not have bauxite to continue to support its operation and it will close down, and it means that the 80 to 150 million United States dollars, which it earns for itself and the country, will not be earned in the future; and the 3,000 jobs which we mentioned would have been lost and their contributions to their local and the national economy would be lost," he asserted.
Dr. Douglas said some of the potential negative impacts of the mining include a temporary change in land use from agriculture to mining, drainage issues, temporary loss of income to farmers, as well as noise and dislocation of households.
However, he stressed there should be no effect on groundwater or air quality and the noise associated with any mining in the area should not exceed NEPA's standard of 75 decibels.
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