(Jamaica Gleaner) A private company and the country’s chief environment regulator have struck a confidential agreement that resulted in the withdrawal of a criminal prosecution over an oil spill in the Rio Cobre that devastated fishing communities in St Catherine in December 2023.
The surprising development unfolded in the St Catherine Parish Court on Wednesday when an attorney from the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) informed the presiding judge that the regulator, the Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA) reached a settlement with Trade Winds Citrus Limited and wanted to discontinue the case.
When Judge Yvette Wenthworth-Miller requested the agreement for the court’s scrutiny, the lawyer told her that it was confidential. NEPA is the technical and enforcement arm of the NRCA, which got permission from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to prosecute the matter.
“It is totally inappropriate. To lock out the public; lock out the communities out of knowing what is the basis for withdrawing the charges and what are the terms and conditions of the agreement?” argued Marcus Goffe, an attorney, who witnessed the proceedings on behalf of the Friends of Rio Cobre. The group says it represents over 200 fisher folk and residents who depend on the river for their livelihood.
He added: “This is not a private prosecution; this is not NEPA’s river; NEPA didn’t suffer personally. They are a government agency subject to the public and the public interest is their mandate. They are all paid by taxpayers’ money to represent the public interest.”
Leonard Francis, chief executive officer of NEPA, declined to comment on Wednesday night, saying he was awaiting a briefing from the attorneys in the matter.
Trade Winds, a juice making firm, was charged with breaches of the Wild Life Protection Act following an oil spill on December 11, 2023. The company owns the Jamaica Beverage Plant from which the oil was emitted. NEPA said the incident resulted in a fish kill.
In a media statement following the incident, NEPA said its investigations found that the oil spill in the Bog Walk area was coming from a malfunctioning boiler from the old Jamaica Beverage Plant.
The Rio Cobre, a storied river in Jamaica’s history, is a major source of water for St Catherine.
The two-year construction of a $12-billion Rio Cobre water supply treatment plant started in March. Upon completion, it is expected to serve over 600,000 residents in Spanish Town and Portmore, in St Catherine; Kingston, the country’s capital, and St Andrew.
According to Goffe, the NEPA attorney told the court that the agency had written to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for its approval of the agreement and the withdrawal of the charges. However, the office was reportedly seeking more time.
Goffe said the judge later queried whether the mediation was ordered by the court. It was not.
Wenthworth-Miller, then dismissed the case.
“The court has no idea what was in the agreement. Neither do we as the Rio Cobre community. The Clerk of Court has no idea only NEPA and Trade Winds know what is in the agreement. But it’s of public interest,” argued Goffe.
“How can they (NRCA) bring a serious criminal charge and, two twos, make an about-turn and say that they have no case, or they have a weak case.. but then they can’t tell us the public or anyone outside of their own as to what is the basis for the terms they have agreed to to withdraw the charges.”
Residents and fisherfolk in Bog Walk expressed frustration over the oil spill, which followed previous adverse discharges in the key river, upending their livelihoods. “The oil spill limits the catch; the fish aren’t biting, and we can’t catch any,” said fisherman Andrew Feron, who used the river to support his family.
The residents protested and demanded compensation for the spill.
The NRCA and NEPA are entities under the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, whose portfolio minister is Prime Minister Andrew Holness.
