Opposition wants details on Bengal extension
Published:Tuesday | January 11, 2022 | 12:08 AM
The Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) is calling on Prime Minister Andrew Holness to explain how a breach of an environmental permit was accommodated in the push by a company to mine limestone in the ecologically sensitive Dry Harbour Mountains.
Holness is responsible for the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), the administrator of the Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA) that issued an amended permit to Bengal Development Limited in December 2020.
On the weekend, The Sunday Gleaner reported a December 31 statement from Bengal that it was now in compliance with the permit after it paid a $40-million bond after missing two previous deadlines – January 17, 2021 and March 21, 2021.
NEPA had said Bengal’s request for a further extension was denied.
Seven extra week
But Bengal has now said that NEPA wrote it on April 30, 2021, giving it seven additional weeks to pay the bond, which it did on June 7.
Senator Sophia Frazer-Binns, opposition spokesperson on the environment, wants NEPA to explain how the payment was accommodated, labelling the revelation as “shocking, irresponsible, a dereliction of duty and a major blow to environmental protection”.
She added: “If media reports are correct, this represents a blatant disregard for the environment and shows that the words of the NRCA, the country’s legislated environmental protection agency and the Government cannot be trusted and have very little value.”
Among the details she is asking for are the date and circumstances of the extension. She also wants an explanation as to why the country was not informed of the decision to extend the window, whether Holness was previously aware of it – and when he became aware – as well as what had changed to allow NRCA or the prime minister to grant a further extension.
The Opposition is also appealing to Mining Minister Robert Montague not to grant a permit for the parcel of land in St Ann on which Bengal wants to mine.
The Gleaner submitted questions to NEPA on January 3 regarding the matter, but the agency is yet to provide answers.
The Bengal project has been steeped in controversy after news emerged in November 2020 that Holness overruled the NRCA and granted an environmental permit to Bengal to mine in the area known for its endangered and endemic flora and fauna.
Bengal says it is now awaiting the approval of its mining licence to proceed with the 20-year project that has promised over $600 million in taxes and up to 100 jobs.