Earl Moxam, Senior Gleaner Writer

There are to be changes in the memorandum of understanding giving the Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI) responsibility for regulating the restoration of mined-out lands.

These amendments are to be made in light of growing concerns about possible conflicts of interest inherent in the arrangement.

In 1994, the MoU was signed by the JBI and the Natural Resources and Conservation Authority (NRCA), under which the NRCA delegated some of its monitoring and regulatory functions to the JBI.

scrutiny

Paullette Colbush, acting senior manager for environmental management at the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), told Parliament's Economy and Production Committee on Wednesday that the arrangements were being reviewed.

"The agency could possibly take on more of the responsibilities that the JBI currently carries out on our behalf," she said, asserting that the environmental agency was now in a better position to assume its regulatory responsibilities.

The existing arrangement between the JBI and NRCA (now an agency of NEPA) came in for harsh criticism from members of the committee as well as civil society representatives concerned with the environmental and economic impact of bauxite mining.

"That leads to a conflict of interest since the JBI's role, among others, is to enhance the competitive position (of the bauxite companies) whereas that doesn't necessaril with the monitoring of the industry," Michael Schwartz, manager of Windsor Research Centre in Trelawny, observed in his presentation to the committee.

areas of concern

Schwartz detailed several areas of concern for environmental groups regarding the mining and land restoration practices of the bauxite companies. He said that in many instances the mined-out sites were not adequately restored, leaving the land infertile and unsuitable for productive agricultural use afterwards. He also warned against inadequate storage of residues of caustic soda used in the processing of alumina, which sometimes leads to seepage into ground water resources.

Another area of concern for the environmental groups is the fact that NEPA relies on the bauxite/alumina companies to record air quality in the vicinity of their operations and report these to the regulators.

This was brought to the attention of the committee by Diana McCaulay, chief executive officer of Jamaica Environment Trust (JET).

Peter Bunting, chairman of the Economy and Production Committee, stunned by this revelation, likened it to motorists being asked to report their breaches of the road traffic laws to the police.

"I still am trying to understand the difference between this and asking speeding drivers to report their breaches at the nearest police station," he said.

Pressed as to whether reports of unsatisfactory air quality had been reported by the bauxite companies, Colbush said she was unable to confirm that there had been any.