Port Antonio mayor threatens legal action over pollution
Published:Thursday | March 19, 2026 | 12:09 AMGareth Davis Sr/Gleaner Writer
Mayor of Port Antonio Paul Thompson is threatening legal action against residents of the upper Rio Grande Valley in East Portland who continue to dump garbage into streams.
Thompson told The Gleaner that he had received multiple reports of waste being discarded into waterways, a practice he described as both illegal and dangerous.
“It was only last week that I received another report about garbage being dumped in a stream, which, whenever it rains, overflows into the backyard of a senior citizen, who is also a retired public servant,” he said.
He warned residents to stop immediately. “I am saying to those engaged in such illicit practices to desist. We have officers at the Portland Municipal Corporation, who will be investigating these matters. Never let it be said that you were not warned. When you are caught, do not call this office because I won’t be able to help you. The chips will lie where they fall. Polluting water ways is a serious offence.”
His comments follow a complaint by May Harris, a retired Forestry Department employee from Seaman’s Valley who has endured more than a decade of rubbish being washed into her backyard whenever it rains heavily in the Rio Grande Valley.
“I have worked hard … and now I am retired, and I have to contend with garbage being washed throughout my backyard space,” she said.
“It is getting from bad to worse, and even though I have approached those dumping garbage into the stream, urging them to desist, them only curse mi out. I am frustrated and, therefore, I now have to go public in seeking help from the powers that be. We have been getting a lot of rain, and the garbage keeps washing into my backyard. Tyres, plastic bottles, baby pampers, scandal bag, items of clothing, and old footwear keep washing down.”
Her account underscores a wider environmental problem in rural Jamaica where inadequate waste disposal and poor enforcement often leave communities vulnerable to flooding, contamination, and public-health hazards.
The warning from Thompson comes against the backdrop of significantly higher penalties for environmental offences. Under amendments to the Natural Resources Conservation Authority Act and the Wildlife Protection Act introduced in 2025, individuals face fines of up to $5 million or five years’ imprisonment for polluting waterways. Corporate bodies may be fined up to $10 million for illegally discharging effluent or sewage into rivers and streams.
Thompson said enforcement officers would intensify monitoring in the Rio Grande Valley and pursue offenders where necessary. For residents like Harris, the hope now is that official action will finally stem the tide of waste sweeping through their homes.