The Quarry Association of T&T (QATT) notes the recent resignation of Professor Julian Kenny after six months as chairman of the Environmental Management Authority (EMA). In his letter of resignation it is stated that the professor cites the Government's failure to reinstate the original Certificate of Environmental Clearance (CEC) Rules, which govern quarrying, as the primary reason behind his decision to leave, specifically, CEC Rules: Activity 23 regarding non-metallic mining, essentially quarrying and Activity 8, regarding land and forest clearing. The legislation was amended in 2007 by the previous government to allow quarry operators to undertake clearing and mining activities on quarrying sites that were less than 150 acres without issue of a CEC.
It should be noted that this decision was taken at the height of the then prevailing construction boom when demand for aggregate far outstripped local supplies and there was the need to bring additional supplies on the market in the shortest possible time. The CEC was viewed as an impediment as the process was extremely cumbersome as it took a minimum of two years from application to issue of the CEC certificate. As a consequence, the Government in its wisdom decided, in the national interest, to fast-track the approval process for issue of a quarry licence by removing the CEC requirement. This was done to increase local production of aggregate, thereby resulting in savings of hundreds of millions of dollars in valuable foreign exchange that would have been required for the purchase of imported aggregate and at the same time safeguard the employment of approximately 15,000 direct employees and the well being indirectly of over 100,000 people in an industry with capital investment in excess of $3 billion.
Prof Kenny makes the point that the Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs announced the granting of 17 new licences on May 13, which without reinstatement of the law would ravage the environment. QATT wishes to advise that the majority of recent licences issued are in respect of previously quarried areas, some as long ago as the 1960s and 1970s in the Tattoo Trace area. As a consequence, the resumption of quarrying in these areas should have only minimal negative impacts on the environment. The environmental damage that the professor and indeed the Government should be concerned about is that of illegal quarrying, especially on State lands that has been unleashed in the environment within the last 45 years. These operators target the forest reserves throughout Trinidad and operate without fear from the Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs, the ministry responsible for management of the industry.
During the past two years, QATT has continuously advised the ministry of a major illegal sand and gravel operation in the Melajo-Pine Road area, Sangre Grande, close to the Toco-Valencia junction where hundreds of acres of virgin forest reserve have been cleared and tens of thousands of cubic yards of gravel removed.
Indeed, at the quarry consultation held in Sangre Grande on February 14, at which the Minister of Energy and Energy Affairs, Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan, was present, the QATT again highlighted this operation. Again no action has been taken and the operation allowed to continue unimpeded. Again, for the past five years QATT has been complaining of the illegal operation of at least half a dozen processing quarries on the banks of the Mausica River, D'Abadie. These operations are responsible for silting of the Caroni Water Treatment Plant downstream, resulting in the regular shutting down of the plant to carry out desilting and repair operations, estimated to cost in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Once more no action has been taken on this complaint. The quarry industry plays a pivotal role in any country's development, without which there will be no infrastructure such as roads, highways, bridges, hospitals and schools, to name a few. Our local industry makes an important contribution to the gross national product and is one of the country's major employers. By its very nature, we admit that there will be some negative impacts on the environment. However, to ensure its integrity and resilience are not compromised, QATT commits it members to working with the Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs, the Environmental Management Autho- rity and all other relevant government agencies with a view to minimising the negative environmental effects.
Ramdeo (Dan) Persad
President, QATT