Opposition demands details of settlement in Rio Cobre oil spill case

The Opposition is demanding public disclosure of the reasons for the discontinuation of prosecution by the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) against Trade Winds Citrus Limited in relation to the pollution of the Rio Cobre in December 2023.

In a media release on Thursday, shadow spokesperson for Environment and Ecological Heritage, Sophia Frazer Binns, said the Opposition was concerned about the decision to discontinue the case.

“We are deeply concerned that the basis of the decision remains unknown, especially to the residents of the Bog Walk community who were directly affected by the pollution of the river. We also wish to ascertain whether the citizens whose rights were directly affected were consulted before the agreement with the company was made by NRCA/NEPA," she said.

Frazer Binns argued that transparency and good governance demand that the agreement be shared with the public, and particularly with the affected residents.

The Opposition said the outcome to the prosecution and the cloak of confidentiality over the agreement made between the company and NEPA raise serious questions about the message of impunity being sent to persons whose "aberrant practices contribute" to the destruction of the environment.

The decision by NEPA was announced in the St Catherine Parish Court on Wednesday when its attorney  informed the presiding judge that the regulator, the Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA), had reached a settlement with the company.

However, when Judge Yvette Wenthworth-Miller requested the agreement for the court's scrutiny, the lawyer told her that it was confidential. 

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