ENVIRONMENTAL scientist and Jamaica Environment Trust CEO Dr Theresa Rodriguez-Moodie says National Environmental Planning Agency (NEPA) must look to technology to assist with its monitoring, given the fact that it has only 25 enforcement officers on staff.

Rodriguez-Moodie made the recommendation in a statement issued to the media on Monday, after another episode of toxic discharge into the Rio Cobre by bauxite-alumina processing factory Windalco last weekend.

“Enhanced monitoring of the Rio Cobre is imperative, including the establishment of an automated waterway monitoring system for timely pollution detection,” she said.

According to the JET chief executive the discharge on Friday, which resulted in a fish kill, was a clear indication that the measures that were ordered by NEPA in 2019 following a spate of incidents are clearly “not working”.

Following rainfall last Friday evening, toxic effluent was reported to have flowed into a tributary of the Rio Cobre which, despite efforts to contain the effluent, led to dead fish downstream the following day.

This, according to JET, “underscores the severity of the pollution”.

NEPA, which described the incident as minor, instructed Windalco to neutralise the contaminated water to prevent further damage downstream.

Rodriguez-Moodie, however, in rapping the regulator, said, “I cannot imagine what would have happened if there was heavier and continuous rainfall. Polluters must be held accountable. We must not be okay with the pollution of our rivers and environment.”

Speaking with the Jamaica Observer on Monday the environmental scientist said, “There are different ways that monitoring can take place and one of the things I have been calling for is, if we look at monitoring beyond having a person go out every time there is need to collect information and look instead at automated systems, it will actually get better and we can utilise the limited resources in a more efficient way.”

She said the rhetoric of a shortage of human resource should be abandoned.

“I’m not putting any blame on the enforcement officers but I think that in relation to enforcement, this has been a shortcoming that has been identified for years — and to be using it as an excuse, to be using it as an explanation as to why there are issues with enforcement, I think we need to move past that,” Rodriguez-Moodie said, noting that the resource constraint is the same excuse made by the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation.

“One of these I’ve suggested is looking at automated systems, especially for pollution. I believe that in the watershed policy document that was put out for public comment last year, the use of drones was recommended; so basically [it’s] the use of more technology to assist with monitoring, because it is a challenge. The point is, if we are serious about environmental solutions we need to stop finding excuses and find ways to address it,” she stated.

An enforcement officer who spoke with the Observer on condition of anonymity said such professionals are handicapped in their duties as they “are expected to carry out the roles and functions of other technical staff along with their enforcement duties, for example, collecting water samples and drafting summons”.

“Enforcement inspectors/officers are required to conduct post-permit monitoring, investigations, respond to environment emergencies such as fish kills and oil spills, and a lot of administrative work that bind us to our desk. The Enforcement Branch on a whole is severely understaffed — there are one or two inspectors/officers tasked to monitor an entire parish in a fast-developing country. This has resulted in level four enforcement inspectors and level six enforcement officers carrying out the same task, with a disparity in salaries,” the individual told the Observer.

In the meantime, JET also called for the Government to promptly increase fines and penalties under the Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA) Act and the Wild Life Protection Act, stating that “current penalties are insufficient to deter environmental violations”.

Furthermore, it said Windalco’s permits should be suspended until comprehensive measures are in place to prevent future pollution incidents. In also said NEPA should engage independent experts to assess the effectiveness of measures implemented by Windalco, and ensure their adequacy.

In 2019 NEPA requested that Windalco expand its effluent holding pond (EHP) following repeated pollution incidents in the Rio Cobre. The EHP captures effluent for recycling in the refinery’s process. Windalco received the permit in September 2020, with construction starting in January 2022. Completion was slated for December 2022. Despite assurances, the second holding pond was not finished until August 2023. This was hailed as a milestone for environmental sustainability by the Ministry of Mining. Windalco was also required by NEPA to adopt “best available technology” to reduce waste and enhance bauxite residue disposal.