Minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation (MEGJC), Hon. Daryl Vaz yesterday (February 13) led a multi-agency meeting with the management of the JISCO/Alpart Bauxite Plant in St Elizabeth to address the impact of the dust emanating from the residue disposal area (mud lake) at Nain.

Minister Vaz attended the meeting on the invitation of Member of Parliament (MP) for South East St Elizabeth Franklin Witter.  The meeting also included a number of representatives from the Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDA’s).

The communities affected by the accompanying environmental and human health challenges from the mud lake include: Myersville, Buena Vista, North Hampton, Lower Warminster, Upper Warminster, Austin, Folly, among others.

It was highlighted during the meeting that the dust problem became more pronounced since December 2019 for a number of reasons. 

These include:-

• The commencement of the dry season and lack of rainfall
• JISCO’s inability to quickly build out the dust containment measures such as wetting, irrigation, dust suppression and
• The stockpile of raw material being identified as a source of dust, which the Plant has been instructed to address in short order.

At the end of the meeting it was agreed that residents from the communities are to be compensated starting today (February 14, 2019), with the remaining compensation packages to be issued at the end of the month.

JISCO/Alpart was instructed to increase the number of personnel such as doctors, legal staff and community relations officers,  to address shortcomings in areas of health, land settlement, relocation, legacy issues and community relations with the residents.

The plant was also mandated to comply with a cessation order which was served by National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) under the NRCA Air Quality Regulations(2010),  in January 2019.  The order was specific on the actions JISCO were to implement,  to mitigate the dust problem.

The management of the plant was also instructed to speedily build out the dust suppression measures within the time mandated by NEPA, while Government regulatory agencies were instructed to continue monitoring and enforcement interventions to ensure full compliance by the company.

Minister Vaz gave the assurance that he would personally monitor the situation, and would work with Minister of Transport and Mining, Hon. Robert Montegue, to deal with the issues.

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