WESTERN BUREAU – The Jamaica Public Service Company (JPSCo) has denied that the presence of oily substance on the grounds of the Pyre River Cemetery in Montego Bay has emanated from its Bogue generating plant.

“(The) JPSCo is assuring the public that it has no knowledge of any conditions on its Bouge Plant that would cause the presence of those substances in the cemetery,” the light and power company said in a statement yesterday.

At the same time, the JPSCo said that it has launched a full investigation into the matter and is supporting efforts by the National Environmental Planning Agency (NEPA) to ascertain the source of the problem.

Yesterday mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Noel Donaldson, called on the JPSCo to immediately investigate and take action to curb the discharge of what he said appeared to be oil, allegedly coming from the Bogue Power Plant onto the grounds of the Pyre River Cemetery.

“For the past several days my cemetery keeper has noted and reported that there is a substance resembling oil which is coming from the Bogue Plant,” Donaldson alleged.

“We are very concerned because this has implications for safety and the environment, because that water (containing the oily substance) flows right through the Pyre River and then flows into the Marine Park,” mayor Donaldson added.

Yesterday an official at NEPA told the Observer that the agency was investigating the matter.