Turning now to the NEAC refusal - last night, we told you about the late evening press release from the Department of Environment sent out to confirm that the National Environmental Appraisal Committee (NEAC) had refused to grant Waterloo and Port of Belize Limited the necessary environmental clearance to start the next phase of their proposed development for their Port Loyola compound.
Our newsroom has since obtained a copy of the 5 page highly technical letter that Anthony Mai, the Chief Environmental Officer, wrote to the Port's Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Lane.
Dated December 5, 2022, the letter provides a detailed breakdown of the rejection. He says that NEAC met on November 24 to discuss the 2022 EIA Report, and, quote, "In its assessment, the Committee recognized the potential positive social and economic benefits of the proposed project. However, after careful discussion and deliberation, on the project proposed, including the review of the concerns raised by the public, the Committee recommended to the DOE that approval should not be granted for environmental clearance to the proposed project." End quote.
The letter then outlines five reasons why the NEAC couldn't recommend environmental clearance.
Firstly, this project would represent one of the most significant dredging projects in Belize. Unfortunately, the Committee was not assured that the methodology proposed in the 2022 EIA report would effectively contain the dredged spoils.
On that matter, the NEAC thought quote, "It was noted that the proposed containment system utilizing geotextile has not been used before, and therefore poses a risk of failure." End quote.
Secondly, the NEAC shared its concern that there is a risk of negative impact on the barrier reef resulting from the disposal of dredged spoils in the proposed nearshore site. The context of that concern is the sensitive nature of the Reef System, the marine life near the containment area, and the possible impact on fishing grounds and navigation south of the containment area.
Also, the Committee believes that although there had been some consultation with stakeholders, including communities adjacent to the project site, this was inadequate in methodology and coverage.
And finally, there were concerns within the Committee that the information and analysis provided in the EIA were dated, general, and not specific to the proposed project. In addition, views were raised in the discussion that the analysis was not supplied with sufficient field assessment.
So, for those reasons and others, the NEAC could not give its approval for the project to be given the environmental green light.
Mai closes his letter by reminding the developers that they have 21 days to appeal the DOE's decision by writing to the Minister responsible for the environment.
This morning, we contacted the Port's CEO, Andrew Lane, for comment, and via WhatsApp, he told us, quote, "At this point in time, we do not have any comments to make." End quote.
