This morning a Cayo citizens group secured a legal victory against the developers of the Chalillo dam after the Chief Justice ruled that BECOL had not fulfilled all the conditions of the Environmental Compliance Plan set out by the Department of the Environment. The claim had been filed last July by Candy Gonzalez of the Belize Institute of Policy and Law – known as BELPO - on behalf of the residential communities living downstream of the dam.
In her arguments to the CJ, Gonzalez maintained that there was no proper emergency preparedness plan in the event of a dam break, the mercury levels of fish were not being tested to ensure they could safely be consumed, water quality was not being appropriately monitored and overall, there was a lack of communication between BECOL and those residents likely to be affected by any adverse impacts of the dam.
In his decision this morning Chief Justice Abdulai Conteh found in BELPO's favour and ruled that the ECP does lawfully bind the DOE to see that it is implemented and fulfilled. The judge went on to order that emergency plans are to be printed and placed at various public locations in Santa Elena and San Ignacio as well as in Cristo Rey; the early warning system for a dam break is to be routinely tested and simulated to ensure effectiveness; the DOE is also ordered to share the results of periodic water quality and mercury tests with the public and BECOL is also required to provide for more information sessions, especially through the Public Participation Committee.
According to the Chief Justice, "Chalillo is operational but it is never too late to give out information". Following this morning's judgment, Gonzalez told us the decision has brought a tremendous sense of relief to her clients.
Candy Gonzalez, Belize Institute of Policy and Law
“We feel that over the years where we have been raising these issues and nobody has really listened that the court with all the evidence in front of them has vindicated our position. If they had just answered the letters,
the correspondence, answered the concerns of the people, including the Mayors both previous and present Mayors of San Ignacio, the Chairman of Cristo Rey, the people who are actually on the ground who along with us, live downstream of the projects and are the ones that could be harmed because of what's happening not only to the river but if there is a dam failure, then none of this would have had to happen.”
Janelle Chanona,
I gathered that much was made that this was the first time an ECP was being so closely scrutinized and watched. How much of a message do you think this sends, not only to BECOL but to other developers?
Michael Young, Attorney, BECOL
“Well a very, very serious message. This is a case in which BECOL in many respects went beyond the requirements of the ECP but in certain respects the Chief Justice found, did not comply. And so this is to show that you need to virtually put the ECP on a table and ensure, and this is for developers, that each one of the requirements are ticked off so that you know that you are in compliance. If you have difficulty then you need to write to the Department of Environment, because there are times that what the ECP requires might be practically even impossible to accomplish so you need to have that paper trail.”
The Chief Justice has also ordered that because the litigation could have been avoided if there had been timely responses to the requests for information, BECOL and DOE are to jointly pay fifteen thousand dollars in costs of court to Gonzalez and her group.
