NEPA Investigates Pollution Incidents

September 3, 2014

The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) has identified the source of an oil slick observed in the Kingston Harbour and the possible cause of a fish kill in the vicinity of the Dyke Road Fishing Complex, Hunts Bay in St. Catherine.

The Agency said that the oil slick observed in the vicinity of New Port East - Kingston Harbour on Monday, September 1 has its origin at the Petrojam facility. According to the Agency, heavy rains over the past week washed contaminants, attributed to a previous spill at the Petrojam facility into the marine environment.

The remediation of this previous spill is currently being conducted by Petrojam with oversight by NEPA. The Agency has instructed Petrojam to implement immediate corrective measures to ameliorate the oil slick present in the marine environment.

Meanwhile, the preliminary findings of the Agency is that the fish kill in Hunts Bay, St. Catherine is as a result of the wash down of a substance into this area of Hunts Bay following the recent rainfall.

The Agency was alerted to the incident on Monday, September 1 following reports by local fishermen of a brown semi-solid substance being washed up along the coast. A NEPA team inspected the area and observed dead marine life along the coast. Water samples were collected and sent to the NEPA laboratory for testing.

Following the water quality assessment the Agency should be able to determine more precisely the cause of the fish kill.