J Wray & Nephew Limited (JWN) is reporting land slippage in a pond containing rainwater at the Appleton Sugar Factory, in the vicinity of the Black River. This follows heavy rainfall in St Elizabeth last Thursday.

The incident was discovered during JWN’s routine inspections after the rainfall, the company said in a statement yesterday.

“The team complied with the agreed standard operating procedures by immediately ceasing operations at the factory, gathering samples, initiated investigation and filed a report with the National Environmental andPlanning Agency (NEPA).

“Thus far, water quality monitoring conducted on site, as well as upstream and downstream of the river have revealed no breach of NEPA’s parameters,” the statement said.

The company said that it has since resumed operations at the factory after deploying several corrective measures, including bypassing the affected area.

“J Wray & Nephew Limited will continue to work with the authorities and take all necessary steps to ensure its activities do not result in damage to the environment,” the company said in the statement.