PRESS RELEASE - Febraury 13, 2004

Sixteen new categories of enterprises, construction and development activities have been added to the list prescribed under the revised regulations of the Natural Resources Conservation Act, administered by the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA).

New categories listed under the Natural Resources (Prescribed Areas) (Prohibition of Categories of Enterprises, Construction and Development) (Amendment) Order 2003, recently signed by Minister of Land and Environment, Hon. Dean Peart, include:

Golf courses, theme parks; ship yards, marinas and boat yards; sewage and industrial waste-water treatment facilities; transportation centres for more than ten vehicles; construction or demolition of reservoirs, dams, dykes and aqueducts; railways, tramways and cable cars operations; irrigation and waste management and improvement projects; causeways and multiple span bridges; hospitals; shopping centres ; aquaculture facilities and ponds and intensive fish farming; storage of scrap metal including derelict vehicles; offshore drilling for extraction of oil, natural gas or minerals; and dry cleaning operations.

Most of the new categories attract a processing fee of Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000), which will come into effect on March 1, 2004. While the fees for processing some of the original categories of permits remain at Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000), other categories have been increased to Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000) and Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000).

In terms of licence , the new fee for the discharge of trade and sewage effluent is Seven Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($7,500). Late application fee for renewal of licences is Six Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($6,500).

In addition, the new application fee for permit and licence is Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000). A fee paid in respect of an application for a permit or licence is non-refundable. A licence becomes renewable every five (5) years.

The Permit and Licence Regulations came into effect in 1996 when some twenty-four (24) prescribed categories were introduced. Under the Regulations, a permit is required to undertake any new construction or development of a prescribed nature anywhere in the island or the territorial sea of Jamaica. A licence is required for the handling of sewage or trade effluent and poisonous or harmful substances to be discharged into the environment. A permit and/or licence is intended to assist enterprises to optimize their productive processes through environmentally-friendly practices such as waste reduction, recycling, energy and water conservation while ensuring protection of the environment through orderly development.