Ministries in conflict over river mining

Reports from Frank’s Eddy Village in the Cayo District say gravel mining on the Caves Branch River has been put on hold, apparently as a result of pressure from the Department of the Environment. According to Environmental Technician Albert Roches, he and other officials of the department visited the area last Thursday following a News Five report and came to the conclusion that the river gravel extraction operations near Jaguar Paw Resort were in clear violation of the Environmental Protection Act of 1992. Roches says that based on their on-site assessment and with the consent of Environment Minister Henry Young, the operators were asked to cease operations immediately. While the miners initially turned off their machines, it is reported that a few hours later, Housing Minister Hubert Elrington, who is a partner in one of the operations, showed up and ordered his men back to work because there was no written order for them to stop. Up to late this afternoon we understand that those men and machines were still busy hauling gravel from the riverbed. When we called the Geology and Petroleum Department, we were informed by its Director, Fay Smith, that only one license was issued to mine that portion of the Cave’s Branch River. That license, Smith says, was issued to B.B. Company of Burrell Boom and that the other operators might be under sub-contract. Smith says that it is her belief that mining will actually help the river, and that is why the license was granted to the company. While that may be so if done properly, the environmentalists see it differently. According to Roches, the amount of material that is being taken out of the riverbed is far more than the river could put back in one or two years. Apart from violating the Environmental Protection Act, Roches says that other regulations have also been breached by the operations, including conditions under the National Lands Act relating to the conservation of the sixty-six feet reserve along any water course. Both the Department of the Environment and the Geology and Petroleum Department are presently collaborating on proposed legislation to reconcile their divergent views and minimize environmental damage caused by mining in rivers.