Groups
file suit to block La Brea smelter
By Azard Ali
The Trinidad & Tobago NewsDay
Port
Spain
Petroleumworldtt.com
07 01 07
TWO GROUPS have filed for judicial review in the
High Court against the proposed construction of
an aluminium smelter plant at the La Brea Industrial
Estate.
Senior Counsel Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj filed the
lawsuit on behalf of the Trinidad and Tobago Civil
Rights Association, the Chatham/Cap-de-Ville Environ-mental
Protection Group and a resident of the area in
the San Fernando High Court on Friday.
The groups are claiming that under Section 36
of the Environmental Management Authority (EMA)
Act, the EMA must consider all relevant matters
before it decides to grant a Certificate of Clearance
(COC) for the project. One such consideration is
soliciting the views and submissions of the public.
The lawsuit accuses the EMA of withholding reports
on the impact assessment which would have allowed
the public to make an informed decision on the
project.
The lawsuit will rely on a recent High Court decision
in England in which a judge stopped a government
project due to environmental concerns.
The lawsuit seeks a declaration
that the COC granted for construction of the
smelter is null and void
and of no effect. The applicants are seeking a
declaration that the EMA’s decision be stayed.
The EMA granted a COC to the National Energy Corporation
(NEC) on April 30 for construction of the plant
by US-based Alutrint at Union Estate, La Brea.
The lawsuit states that Government first proposed
a smelter plant at Chatham, but apparently bowed
to pressure from residents and announced on December
24, 2005, that it had revoked that decision.
The Government later proposed construction of
smelter plants at La Brea and on lands to be reclaimed
off the coast of South Oropouche.
The
Trinidad & Tobago NewsDay
Sunday, July 1 2007
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