Several stakeholders, including fishers negatively impacted by the latest pollution of the Rio Cobre, are to receive millions of dollars in compensation as the Government steps up its punishment of entities which harm Jamaica’s rivers.

In addition, the Government says that legislation is coming to ban the direct release of contaminants into the island’s rivers.

Minister with responsibility for the environment Senator Matthew Samuda on Wednesday told the Jamaica Observer that the Andrew Holness Administration is determined to protect the environment and will go after entities, or people, who allow contaminants to enter the rivers.

Samuda was speaking to the Observer minutes before leaving the island for the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) in Egypt.

The minister — who had earlier issued a release on the Government’s reaction to the July 26 to August 4 pollution incident at the Rio Cobre — told the Observer that the Government is taking action never done before.

“It has been my intention to ensure updates were provided to Jamaicans on the latest Rio Cobre fish kill. However, the scale and long-standing nature of the problem, along with the complexity of the issues uncovered, demanded that a detailed process of analysis was undertaken. Though the work is not yet complete, we are at the point to provide an update to the public,” said Samuda.

He added that the Government will be amending the Wildlife Protection Act and the Natural Resources Conservation Authority Act in the 2022/23 financial year to increase the fines and penalties for people and organisations found guilty of polluting the island’s rivers.

Samuda pointed out that the latest contamination of the Rio Cobre, and the subsequent fish kill, has led the Government to take legal action against UC Rusal/Windalco and issued a call on its environmental performance bond (EPB) of US$771,558.69 (approximately $117 million).

“By taking the time to properly assess the language of the bond, certain weaknesses became apparent and will be addressed in new bonds issued going forward. This will include a broader group of stakeholders in considering the value of bonds issued,” declared Samuda.

“It is to be noted that over the last 20 years [encompassing several documented pollution events] this response has, unfortunately, not been the norm. It represents the single largest financial consequence applied to any polluter in Jamaica’s history,” he added.

Samuda said extensive consultations have been held with the leadership of the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Ministry of Health and Wellness, Ministry of Labour and Social Security, and other stakeholders in Government.

“Consultations have also been held with Member of Parliament for St Catherine East Central Natalie Neita-Garvey; shadow minister of land, environment and climate change, Senator Sophia Frazer-Binns, and other members of the political directorate,” he said.

According to Samuda, the scale of the economic impact and cost of restorative work and social impacts of the latest contamination of the river have been assessed to exceed $200 million, putting it beyond the value of the EPB which was in place for Windalco.

“Beyond that conundrum is the fact that, within our legislative or licence arrangements, these bonds were never contemplated to be used as social support,” said Samuda.

He said, based on the $117-million bond, the Government will be able to compensate fishers to the tune of $16 million instead of the $57 million they had claimed based on the average daily catch in the area that would have been affected by the 10 days of pollution.

“The shortfall is significant… This will be addressed through other legal channels to hold Windalco accountable, and with upcoming budgetary allocations,” declared Samuda.

Other entities to be compensated include the National Water Commission for revenue and operational losses of just under $43 million, well below the $109 million which it was estimated to have lost; and the National Irrigation Commission, $17 million.

In the meantime, Samuda said that a technical working group is to be set up to recommend strategies and measures to ensure the health, safety, and economic sustainability of the Rio Cobre and its natural resources.

“This multi-stakeholder technical working group will be chaired by Professor Anthony Greenaway. It will have three areas of primary focus — environment, economy and social — which will be supported by the appropriate secretariat, anchored at NEPA. The composition of the sub-working groups will feature representation from the parliamentary Opposition and citizen groups as well. A terms of reference will be developed and published by NEPA on the agency’s website when finalised,” said Samuda.