NEPA clarifies action taken against German Ship Repair Jamaica Limited
Published:Friday | December 22, 2023 | 12:57 PM
The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) has clarified that its recent enforcement action against German Ship Repair Jamaica Limited is not related to the fish kill in the Harbour Head area of Kingston, as it had initially stated.
The agency says the enforcement action, under the Natural Resources Conservation Authority Act, was for non-compliance with terms and conditions of the environmental permit issued to the company in 2019.
NEPA says the management of the company has started to comply and to satisfy the requirements of the submission of documents for review.
The agency has also indicated that an enforcement notice was served on the president of the National Water Commission on December 11 in relation to the fish kill.
It ordered the NWC to immediately cease the discharge of improperly treated sewage into the environment; repair/replace the malfunctioning pump at the lift station within three days; and install a redundancy pump to minimise the possibility of any discharge.
It also ordered the NWC to install/implement an early warning system and submit details within 30 days of the effective date of the notice, with monthly reports on the results of this system submitted to the Agency.
The NWC was also told to submit a maintenance schedule for the entire system within seven days of the date of the notice.
NEPA said the NWC had complied with the first two items up to December 19.
Recently, thousands of dead fish washed up along the Harbour Head shoreline in Harbour View, St Andrew.
NEPA issued a statement indicating that an assessment determined that run-off into the water contributed to the proliferation of algae, thereby reducing oxygen levels.
The lack of oxygen in the water caused the fish to suffocate, NEPA stated.
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