Smelter
will go ahead in La Brea
By Driselle Ramjohn
Trinidad Express
Port
Spain
Petroleumworldtt.com
04 08 07
THE Environmental Management Authority (EMA) has given the majority State-owned
Alutrint the go-ahead for the construction of a proposed aluminium smelter
at the Union Industrial Estate in La Brea.
At
a late evening press conference at the EMA offices
in St Clair yesterday, EMA managing director,
Dr Dave McIntosh said, "The EMA took a decision
today to grant a Certificate of Environmental Clearance
to Alutrint for the development of a 125,000 tonne
per year aluminium smelter."
McIntosh told the media that after intense and
careful analysis of all the scientific information
on the matter, the EMA was satisfied that Alutrint/NEC
would meet all the environmental standards associated
with operating an aluminium smelter in La Brea
together with other industrial activity proposed
for the area.
However, he added that this decision was based
on predictions and estimates, as the environmental
impact of the smelter cannot yet be accurately
determined, since the smelter is not currently
in operation.
It is now the obligation of the aluminium smelter
plant to stay within the stringent standards with
regard to air quality, water quality, noise, soil
quality and effect on human life and the ecology
of the area and environs, he added.
"The task the EMA will now face, as we move
forward with this application, is one of monitoring
and understanding what the baseline conditions
are, so we can examine any shifts in terms of the
human health of the area or impacts on vegetation
and wildlife," McIntosh said.
He
added that the EMA is "ready, willing
and able" to monitor the operations of the
aluminium smelter and will dedicate EMA compliance
officers to work full-time on the Alutrint matter.
McIntosh said that these officers would engage
in baseline monitoring and operational monitoring
at the Alutrint plant, first on a daily basis and
then weekly basis, for the rest of the plant's
existence, which is estimated to be for at least
the next 25 years.
The NEC first applied to the EMA for the CEC for
the construction of the aluminium smelter on April
25, 2005.
An Environmental Impact Assessment was done and
the findings were submitted to the EMA on February
2, 2006.
McIntosh said it had taken the EMA more than a
year to grant the CEC despite the Government's
apparent rush on the project going.
He added that EMA needed the time to do a thorough
investigation and has never been influenced by
any political organisation to expedite the process.
Trinidad
Express
Tuesday, April 3rd 2007
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©2007 Trinidad Express. All Rights Reserved.
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