Thread by @jovanthony

#PuertoBueno controversy. @AndrewHolnessJM admin criticized for overturning decision of environment regulator @nepajamaica, allowing mining in home to endangered, endemic species, limestone forest, important fossil cave, etc.

Gleaner Story 1 -Nov 9: jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-s…

The July 23 decision was inked by then Minister without Portfolio Leslie Campbell, working out of the Office of the Prime Minister, in favour of Bengal Development Limited/Jamaica World LLC, which was denied an environmental permit on May 8. Minister can accept appeal under law.

The permit authorises Bengal Development Limited to mine and quarry bauxite, peat, sand, minerals – including aggregate, construction and industrial materials, and metallic and non-metallic ores.

Bengal was previously refused a permit by NEPA based on the potentially deleterious impact the project would have on the area, including the eradication of dry limestone forest and the biodiverse limestone bluff situated on the Queen’s Highway between Rio Bueno and Discovery Bay.

Bengal was represented by attorney-at-law Abraham Dabdoub, who had technical support in the subject area.

NEPA also presented its argument at the appeal, stated Knight, but explained that the law allows the minister to make several decisions, including upholding the appeal.

Wendy Ann Lee, former executive director of the Northern Jamaica Conservation Association and a resident, tagged the minister’s decision a miscarriage of justice.

“I cannot understand any rationale for overturning the original decision. We were never notified of the appeal."

@JamaicaGleaner Story 2 Nov 10: jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-s…

The investment will see the Government earning more than J$635 million in taxes, plus employment of 100 quarry workers – a windfall that may hold greater sway amid an economy devastated by the coronavirus pandemic.

Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) says the decision cannot be allowed to stand.

JET director Diana McCaulay reiterated the organisation’s concern about the provision in the NRCA Act allowing for a minister to overturn the decisions of a technical agency.

The JET argued that there was a lack of clarity as to where the environment portfolio fell – whether with Pearnel Charles Jr, the minister of climate change, or the prime minister, through the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation.

“We further understand that environmental functions are spread across the two ministries, which will no doubt lead to even greater regulatory incoherence,” said McCaulay.

@JamaicaGleaner Story 3 Nov 12: Puerto Bueno Mountain that is at the centre of an environmental dispute will host ecotourism developments as well as investments in residential and commercial operations, and clean energy, Jamaica World LLC has disclosed. jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-s…

Having received permission to mine 123 acres of the 569-acre property it owns, Jamaica World, operators of Bengal, has sought to convince the country that it will be compliant with the 72 conditions outlined by state regulator, the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA)

Managing partner Kashif Sweet, who spoke through the firm C.L. Environmental Company Ltd, said on Wednesday that quarrying was the first of a multi-phase property development on Puerto Bueno, also called the Dry Harbour Mountain.

But questions have arisen over C.L. Environmental’s current role as public-relations liaison for Jamaica World in light of the fact that it is one of the companies that conducted the damning environmental impact assessment (EIA),

A 2011 article carried by The Gleaner quoted environmentalists objecting to any form of quarrying, arguing that the site remained in virtually the same condition it did when Christopher Columbus dropped anchor off Jamaica in 1494.

A limestone quarry and crushing plant operated on lands from 2001 to 2008 without planning permission from then St Ann Parish Council or an environmental permit from NEPA, leaving local houses covered in dust and reportedly causing respiratory illnesses, residents said.

This time around, the owners of the property, which include Duane Blake, son of late Shower Posse boss Vivian Blake, say they are anxious to become an integral part of the community, creating jobs, preserving and reclaiming the environment, while running a productive operation.

“Owing to the fact this was not a routine project, there is need to employ the services of a senior environmental person and a civil engineer to conduct the monitoring,” NEPA CEO Peter Knight told The Gleaner.

Jamaica World blasted for introducing operations in a ‘no-quarry’ zone, but the company is not deterred, pointing out that none of the existing licensed quarries, of which there are three in St Ann, where the Puerto Bueno Mountain is located, falls within a quarry zone.

The company said that there are 24 quarry zones and 460 quarries across Jamaica, of which 90, or 20 per cent, are within quarry zones. “As of 2020, there are 121 licensed quarries, of which 25, or 20.6% are within quarry zones,” Sweet stated in the statement to the media.

In compliance with the mitigated steps outlined in the EIA, the company promises that blasting will be conducted no more than twice per month, using licensed equipment to prevent rock falls.

@JamaicaGleaner story 4, Nov 12:
PM @AndrewHolnessJM speaks on issue for first time, said Government made “enlightened” decision in confronting need for economic growth, sustainable development, especially in a pandemic-hit economy.

jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/2…

"A strategy of protecting the environment is ensuring that people have livelihoods," Holness said, noting that the land in question is in need of upgrades because of what he said were illegal dumping.

"The land is being degraded all the time, but yet there's concern that we're going to develop the land. And the truth is, if it is done properly we would then have proper ownership of the land, put proper systems in place, and the environment would benefit from that"

Holness: "The public narrative, as if to suggest that the Government is just going out there destroying assets without any form of consideration, that is not true."

"I rubbish that," he declared, as he started a more than half-hour presentation in defence of his administration.

PM: "The Government is taking a very enlightened, a very enlightened view as to how this country should develop.

"Every single development must have as its main objective how to protect, preserve and promote the environment," Holness said.

Asserting that "I'm entitled to defend myself" against the criticisms, Holness said he has considered “equity and justice” in the matter.

@JamaicaGleaner Story 5 Nov 13:

IT WAS not for money why the government overruled the local environment watchdog in permitting mining in the ecologically sensitive Puerto Bueno Mountain Prime Minister Andrew Holness has charged.

jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-s…

However, Holness’ promise that he will shut down the project if there are breaches is hardly convincing for residents and advocates who have expressed disappointment that the head of government is sticking with his decision.

“What won out was for more careful and comprehensive consideration of the environmental benefits and the economic and developmental benefits,” Holness said.

Chairman of the Queen’s Highway Citizens Association in St Ann, Tony Holmes, has described Holness’ decision as “absolutely unbelievable”, leaving residents “disappointed and devastated”.

“None of us can believe that NEPA’s decision has been overruled,” he said.

Holmes claimed that residents were kept in the dark and knew nothing of an appeal against NEPA’s refusal to grant a permit until he saw an email from the agency’s CEO.

"lo and behold, without any consultation, we found out that the whole thing is gonna go ahead."

@JamaicaGleaner Story 6 Nov 15: Despite pressure from environmentalists and local residents, 72 conditions on permit, Jamaica World says mining in the Puerto Bueno Mountains is all “worth it”. jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-s…

Proposed quarry site is at Rio Bueno off the north coast Queen’s Highway. The 569-acre property contains over 335 million tons of limestone reserves. Approximately two million was mined between 2001 and 2008, but Bengal had proposed to mine over 35 million over 20-years

Kashif Sweet, the managing partner of the Florida-registered Jamaica World, admits the requirements, which include a $40-million bond for restoration, are onerous but will not stop his company from pursuing the project.

“Relative to other quarries in the industry, the size of this quarry, the level of certification and expertise is much more expensive and, quite frankly, it’s not going to be the most profitable quarry because of these restrictions,” the US-based private equity investor said

“We can be very creative in the way that we approach the market. We think the market demand is there. And even with the added cost, we think there’s still the ability to create value for our shareholders.”

A laughing Sweet was firm in refusing to disclose how much it would cost to comply with the conditions as well as how the new measures will impact on the projections of $635m in tax inflows for Govt and 100 jobs expected to be created.

There were other things he wouldn’t reveal.

Subsidiary, Bengal, which owned the property in question, was bought from undisclosed Jamaican owners in 2017, and records obtained last Tuesday showed Delilah Limited as director based in St Lucia, a territory favoured for its offshore financial operations.

Records locally show that Bengal had fallen into non-compliance, as it failed to make financial statement filings for 2018, 2019 and 2020 – all the years following its 2017 incorporation in Jamaica.

Sweet said Bengal was inherited with the St Lucian history but is now wholly owned by Jamaica World, which has slipped in and out of active status in Florida since it was registered there in 2016.

“We’re just a private company with multiple shareholders,” was all he would say when pressed for details on directorship and major shareholders of Jamaica World, as well as to confirm the previous owners of the land.

“We have nothing to hide,” he said, however.

The land was previously owned by Diamond Property Development Company, which had made an application in 2011 to mine the same area.

Duane Blake, son of Vivian Blake (the reputed late founder of the notorious Shower Posse), was the director and major shareholder in the company which has been removed from the Companies Office register, official records show.

The Shower Posse has historically been linked to the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), an issue that has become live after the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) demanded that the Government indicate whether any connection influenced the decision.

Asked if he was aware of the antecedents of the company before the decision, Holness said: “No. But those things would not have been material in the consideration. What we considered was the environmental protection … and the development proposals.”

Saying the PNP would not ask a question for which it does not have the answers, spokesperson on environment, Senator Sophia Frazer-Binns, said Holness needs to speak more on that matter.

“It is important in the spirit of openness for the Government to state who is owner, and what any relationships the owners, directors or stakeholders … may have with the JLP, whether presently or in the past,” she said.

Sweet was unable to give a timeline for when any of those will be done, and was similarly uncertain as to when mining will take place in an area previously mined but without any assessment of the environmental damage.

But like Holness, Sweet argued that the development was needed, especially as the country battles the coronavirus pandemic, eating up billions of dollars in revenue and more than 100,000 jobs.

“We don’t want to stick a mini industrial city where it should not belong. It all has to work harmoniously with community, but there is a real need in the country broadly and in the local community. There’s a real need for jobs, there’s a real need for affordable housing"-Sweet

Dr Thomas Goreau, president of the Global Coral Reef Alliance, grew up in Discovery Bay, St Ann, where his father of same name studied the area, and in particular the sea level caves which he said records millions of years of Jamaica’s environmental history in the rocks.

“The site is the most significant global environmental location for reef and the caves, and for understanding how much global warming and sea level rise will result from CO2 increase,” said Thomas.

Dr Thomas is a former senior scientific affairs officer for global climate change and biodiversity at the United Nations Centre for Science and Technology for Development

“The cave is better preserved in Jamaica than anywhere else, and we have asked the Government to get the ancient sea level caved designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site for Global Climate Change,” he added

'Govt saying area of proposed quarry was already badly damaged by a quarry ... but access road that was constructed years ago damaged cave and will never come back. Important to protect what is left. Jamaica could be a leader in stopping runaway climate situation, not a victim'

2019 Environmental Impact Assessment

PROPOSED QUARRYING AND
MINERAL PROCESSING AT RIO
BUENO QUARRY, DRY HARBOUR
MOUNTAIN, DISCOVERY BAY, ST. ANN

Done on behalf of Bengal by C.L. ENVIRONMENTAL CO. LTD. and FORREST & ASSOCIATES

nepa.gov.jm/new/services_p…

2011 @JamaicaGleaner article on the application by Diamond to mine in the #PuertoBueno Mountains and concerns of resident:

jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/201101…

The lands in question have repeatedly been proposed for protected status, starting with botanist George Proctor in 1969; the 1988 Discovery Bay Development Plan; Jamaica's 1997 Policy for a National System of Protected Areas; and in the 2000 St Ann Parish Development Order.

The site is considered a critical habitat for the endangered Jamaican boa. At least 53 species of birds, including 13 of Jamaica's 30 endemic species and 14 endemic subspecies make their homes in its various microclimates, according to reports.

It holds endemic cacti, orchids, and bromeliads, and is rich in invertebrates, including the rare kite swallowtail butterfly.

The former quarry was operated from 2001-2008 by José Cartellone Construcciones Civiles SA, contractors for the North Coast Highway Project under lease from Diamond.

Gleaner story 7, Nov 15 :

jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/2…

A petition has been launched calling for Prime Minister Andrew Holness to reverse the July 2020 ministerial decision to approve a permit for quarrying and mining at Dry Harbour Mountain

Gleaner story 8, Nov 16:

A former deputy commissioner of the Government’s Mines and Geology Division tapped for a leadership role in the controversy-plagued Jamaica World LLC whose subsidiary Bengal permitted to do quarrying in #PuertoBueno Mtns

jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-s…

Kashif Sweet, Jamaica World’s managing partner, revealed in an exclusive interview with The Gleaner on Saturday that Ronald Edwards was being eyed for the role of chief executive officer.

Edwards was at the consultation in 2010 in his government position when a precursor company sought mining privileges, and like he did then, he is encouraging residents and lobbyists to visit the site to examine some of the concerns.

“A lot of people who are saying a lot of things, they are not environmentalists. They are not qualified to be environmentalists,” Edwards told The Gleaner on Sunday night.

Edwards, confirming that negotiations are ongoing, said that his role would be to ensure environmentally friendly quarrying “so that there is total compliance with all the conditions of the environmental permit”.

The intrigue over the ecologically sensitive northern coast mountain region is widening, with the European Union (EU), a key government partner, now calling for the ‘integrity’ of the area to be preserved.

Likely mindful of recent allegations of interference in domestic matters plaguing the US, the EU Delegation here engaged in a delicate dance around the matter when questioned but could hardly hide where its interest may be.

“We recognise that there is controversy over the issue,” said Marianne Van Steen, the newly installed ambassador for the EU, which is spending €16.5 million on boosting environmental protection locally.

“We would encourage all stakeholders to engage in meaningful dialogue in order to ensure that all concerns are addressed and the integrity of the Dry Harbour Mountains is preserved for future generations,” she told The Gleaner in an emailed response.

EU said it is not up to it to “judge” on how Jamaica’s natural resources are used, but “whatever decision is taken, we are confident that this will not be to the detriment of the rich biodiversity of the country"

Asif Ahmad, Britain’s top diplomat here, is staying out of the issue, noting that “implementation of specific rules and decisions by ministers on environmental matters like this are entirely internal to the Jamaican Government”.

Ahmad said the British government would have “grounds for engagement if a British company was put in a situation where their investment has environmental implications and their project was controversial”.

In 2010, NEPA-produced verbatim notes of a community consultation in Rio Bueno, where Dr Carlton Campbell, who was appearing as an environment consultant for Diamond, told residents that company was seeking to supply local market through road and hotel construction, etc

Campbell is managing director of C.L, Environmental, the entity that did a 2019 environmental impact assessment for Bengal.

"In October 2017, US direct private lender, Kennedy Funding Financial, announced that it had closed an “extremely complex” US$2.09m (J$267.5 million) deal with Jamaica World for the development of a commerce and trade centre at the property in question over a five-year period.

The financiers said the process involved seven lawyers drawn from the United States, St Lucia, and Jamaica.

Mining is Jamaica’s largest foreign exchange earner, with bauxite making the biggest contribution, Mining Minister Robert Montague said in a June parliamentary address.

In 2018, the minerals sector contributed 2.7 per cent to Gross Domestic Product while earning about US$1.3 billion.

In a June 2020 paper, global accounting giant PwC pointed to increasing global demand for top-quality lime, with the market in the Americas region projected to grow by over 13 per cent (727 MT) in volume by 2024.

Gleaner story 9, Nov 17: National Integrity Action (NIA) calls for reversal of mining decision, a noting that such a move would represent an infringement on environmental rights enshrined in Jamaica’s Constitution.

jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-s…

“If the prime minister persists despite the breadth and depth of public opinion ...NIA and other concerned organisations would wish to consult and seek constitutional legal opinion to see to what extent the matter would be taken further,” Prof Trevor Munroe, principal director

“That is a bridge that we would hope not to have to cross if the prime minister is as responsive as he said he would be in respect of public opinion,” said the NIA boss.

In a press statement on Monday, Munroe also warned the Government that such a move would put the country at risk of falling further behind in achieving a crucial target in Jamaica’s National Development Plan – that of a “healthy, natural environment”.

The NIA boss argued that one of the explicit grounds for the National Environment and Planning Agency refusing the Jamaica World application in May 2020 was “the deleterious effect on the environment”.

Munroe is relying on Chapter 3 of Jamaica’s Constitution, which he said explicitly protects “the right to enjoy a healthy and productive environment free from the threat of injury or damage from environmental abuse and degradation of the ecological heritage”.

Further, he contended that the Constitution goes on to state that “Parliament shall pass no law and no organ of the State shall take any action which abrogates, abridges or infringes” this right, “save only as may be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society”.

He noted that the prime minister’s explanation has not met the standard that could justify the infringement of citizens’ environmental rights.

@PwC 2020 paper: Limestone Investment Opportunities in Jamaica: Highlights from the Limestone Value Chain Analysis

pwc.com/jm/en/research…

Press statement on loan deal Jamaica World struck regarding development of "center for commerce and trade" on #PuertoBueno lands

Kennedy Funding Financial Closes $2.09 Million Loan For 570-Acre Property Located in Jamaica

kennedyfundingfinancial.com/kennedy-fundin…

“The loan was extremely complex ...we are always willing to go the distance for any client no matter where they are located," Kevin Wolfer, President and CEO of Kennedy Funding Financial.

2010 "verbatim notes of the public presentation on the proposed Diamond Property Management limestone quarry - Queen's Highway, St Ann"

nepa.gov.jm/verbatim_notes…

Statement by NEPA representative:

Diamond's representative: Dr Carlton Campbell emphasised that proposed area was mined already.

Campbell talked about preservation plans such as relocation of endemic, endangered species, mining around trees, etc

Campbell: talked about limestone market, where Diamond intended to target, efforts at water control at the proposed quarry, that environmental permit was once not a requirement, etc

Campbell: addressed illegal dumping, site preparation impacts

From some participants: Resident of area Joe James said he hoped authorities took Jamaica and the children of Jamaica in consideration in determining whether to allow mining, quarrying. Forestry Dept rep noted recommendation to give area protected status

More from participants: Wendy Lee environmentalists; Ronald Edwards, then deputy commissioners of Govt's mines and geology division now being tapped for CEO of company wanting to do quarrying in the area

Mike Schwartz, Windsor Research Centre: "You cannot restore, you cannot rehabilitate a quarry. It's not done."

Dr Campbell responds "...there is also sustainability in terms of your economy, in terms of the social aspect"

2019 "VERBATIM NOTES OF THE PUBLIC PRESENTATION OF THE PROPOSED QUARRYING AND MINERAL PROCESSING AT RIO BUENO QUARRY, DRY HARBOUR MOUNTAIN"
nepa.gov.jm/new/services_p…

Note this time: application to quarry was made by Bengal this time.

Kashif Sweet for Jamaica World, for whom Bengal is a subsidiary:
"We have a vision for the company and quarrying is a small part of that vision."

Participant Martin Hopwood: "I am going to see to
it at the highest office in this country that this thing doesn’t happen."

Sweet to Hopwood: "we are not the
Cartellone from the past, we have
spent over nine years addressing
these issues to make sure that we meet
ever point here that is being
addressed in the room. But we can't
change the past and I understand there are scars"