Spokesperson Alan Harvey (second from right) and other affected residents discuss the way forward, whilst on the outskirts of the Lower Estate Quarry in St. George.
“We need action!”
That’s the cry from frustrated residents in communities surrounding the Lower Estate Quarry in St. George, given a flare up of their reoccurring severe health challenges, which they attribute to that nearby dump.
Spokesperson Alan Harvey, along with Kimberley Johnny, Cleviston Miller, Jason Veira and Ian Proverbs who live in close proximity to the dump, in communities such as The Palms and also in Airy Hill, St. George, say whilst they are the ones making their voices heard on this matter, there are countless residents who they have been in contact with, who are also being affected.
“We are in a group with many other residents who are equally affected and agitated and not just affected from a discomfort point of view, but from a health and wellness point of view,” Harvey pointed out.
Public reports indicate that it was back in 2017 that the Ministry of Health issued an abatement notice, instructing Project Recycle Limited, owned and operated by Anderson Cherry to cease its operations in the landfill, after the matter was ongoing for some time. The company was also ordered to clear the site of all materials, within a set time frame. The order came after an investigation, which revealed that the site was being used as a dump, after numerous residents openly complained of smoke, fumes and foul odours emanating from that compound, which impacted their health.
In 2019, in a court case against the recycling company, a magistrate handed down a ruling suggesting that Project Recycle changed the use of the land at the Lower Estate Quarry, originally zoned for mining, and used it instead for solid waste disposal, without the requisite planning permission. A final settlement on the way forward was to come.
Whilst some of the residents have been part of an environmental committee set up to help address the matter and they say that a White Paper has even gone to Cabinet outlining how the matter should be dealt with, they fear that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought the matter almost to a screeching halt. The residents say they need a swifter resolution to this troubling matter, as they believe that not all activity has ceased in the dump, given that an adjoining quarry may now be in use for mining purposes.
“The hurtful thing is, if it were just a mistake that a business owner made that unfortunately created this problem and then that owner tried to do everything to mitigate the issue or to support the residents, I think the level of anger and frustration would be less. But the problem is the people who run this dump, they have been given stop order, after stop order from the Town and Country Planning and (the Ministry of Health) and they continue (ignore them). They have also embarked on a new business venture, to quarry the rock in the area and obviously, for sale,” Alan, suggested.
Outlining their health challenges, Alan’s wife Kimberly said they have spent several nights in the Accident and Emergency Department with their young son, who gets an asthmatic attack each and every time the foul stench erupts from the dump, especially now during the raining season. Jason meanwhile lamented being “on lockdown”, each and every time the fumes permeate the atmosphere.
Ian told this newspaper, “My dream house has become a nightmare. That’s not an exaggeration. We didn’t ask for this, they brought it to us and there hasn’t been the slightest bit of empathy or remorse from them. They have broken the law, they have impacted our lives and they are carrying on and getting government contracts.”
Cleviston meanwhile suggested, “Government has to get involved and the same way that they dealt with the South Coast and other critical issues in the society, they have to deal with this issue in the same way, whatever it takes, whatever it costs because we are paying right now with our health.”
In terms of the way forward, Alan said, “They need to stop any and all activity on the site. The government needs to take full control of the area and declare it an environmental disaster area. We need air quality testing done immediately, so that the residents can determine what we are being exposed to and what the short and long term effects of exposure to these chemicals, is going to be. We also need soil testing and water testing, to determine the possible impact on the country’s water table and the Belle Pumping Station, which as we were told serves three quarters of the island’s water.”
“The relevant authorities also need to devise a mitigation plan to fully remove all of the material that is in the dump and revert the quarry to its original state, before the illegal dumping activity started,” Alan said of the serious action that needs to take place. (RSM)