The Pomeroon coconut factory fined $1 million by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last month for dumping husks and shells in the surrounding waterways has closed operations indefinitely and is blaming the EPA for not giving it enough time to get its operations in compliance with rules.
“It is closed. We didn’t have an alternative. We didn’t get no time to prepare to do anything. Where will we dispose of the waste? They know it was there for so many years and they never came to work with us? So it is closed. We don’t know when we will open back,” Alfro Alphonso, of Fat Boy Coconut Ventures told Stabroek News yesterday.
“That will take a long time. We are trying to source things from overseas. That don’t happen so quick, you know. So we close,” he added.
However, EPA Head Dr Vincent Adams said that while he has no control of the business managers’ decisions for their establishment, he rejects the company’s contention that the EPA would not work with it and has documents to prove otherwise.
“That is totally false that we didn’t work with this company. But he made his business decision to shut down his operations, in preference to protecting human health and environment. He does that while the EPA makes its decisions with protection of the human health and environment based upon the laws of the country as its highest priority,” he said.
After several warnings, the EPA last month fined the company $1 million for dumping coconut shells and husks into tributaries of the Pomeroon River.
The EPA head had said that his agency was assured by Fat Boy Coconut Ventures, which is managed by Alfro Alphonso & Sons Enterprises, of mechanisms being put in place to recycle the shells.
“Yes, it true, the company has been fined $1 million for its dumping of about 15,000 coconut shells into the canals that flow into the Pomeroon River,” Adams had told this newspaper.
“We had a meeting with Alphonso’s company a couple of weeks ago and we explained to them that this here has been an issue ongoing for over a couple of years without solution and after our last investigation, the fine would be instituted. They were very forthcoming, saying yes they understand and so and have agreed to pay that fine and we gave them 30 days, which expires at the end of July, to obtain their permit. But as a requirement, they have to demonstrate that they have environmentally sound measures to dispose of the shells or recycle them,” he had explained.
Residents of communities along the Pomeroon River have bemoaned the daily dumping of the shells and the husks into the waterways near to the company’s operations over the past two years.
Some have said that not only do the shells and husks create a flood risk, they also pose a potential hazard for those travelling on the river, especially at nights. This is because the shells can be caught in the motors of their boats, which may cause them to capsize.
Andron Alphonso of Alfro Alphonso & Sons Enterprises, had said that the company accepted the fine and will be in full compliance in the timeframe stipulated by the EPA. However, events have proved otherwise.
Meantime, the EPA Head, who took up his portfolio last August, said that there is evidence that the agency worked with the company and he finds it “strange” that company representatives would now say things to the contrary.
“For him to say we did not work with him is absolutely false and I find that strange. The company had been ignoring the agency for years. It was only when the fine was imposed that they came in and we said we would work with them. But working with them means that they still have to follow the law. He made the commitment in the last meeting we had that they would get the necessary equipment that would allow him to stop the river dumping,” Adams said.
“As a matter of fact, he was the one who said he needed 30 days to get his equipment in place and we gave him more than 30 days. The 30 days were his decision and not our request. In addition, he was the one who requested to have a payment plan and he determined the conditions of the payment plan and we agreed to it. They said that they could not afford the $1 million in a single payout and we asked what payment plan they suggested. We did not suggest, he did and we accepted. If he shuts down, that is his business decision but the EPA cannot allow people to flout the laws in the country in the name of business. If that is the case, you might not have an EPA and let every business decide what they want to do,” he added.
Adams said that history and research have shown that control of pollution is not only for the benefit of humans and the environment but also for businesses. “Environmental laws are being stricter by the day, yet the economies of the world continue to grow unimpeded,” he posited.
“My priority is the people of this country,” he continued.
Adams said that permit holders can attest that when infractions are found, the agency tries to work with them and he pointed to Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL), which he said has complied with all requirements after it was found to be breaching environmental laws.
“The EPA always stands to help all of our permit holders. Let the records show that we have been working with other permit holders. Take, for example, DDL, they have been cooperating fully. The difference is he has not been cooperating for years,” he said.
“The EPA has worked with close to 500 developers in the past six months to get their non-compliant permits in order without the imposition of fines because they were very cooperative in complying with the law of the land. Besides, there is an environmental protection piece of the cost in every business plan and should be accounted for in the cost of the product,” he added.
