NEPA calls press briefing 'to clarify' details about collapsed Wisynco pollution case

The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) has called a news conference for Thursday amid outrage over its handling of a failed pollution case against distribution and manufacturing firm Wisynco Group Limited.

The briefing, scheduled for 10 a.m. at the agency’s headquarters in St Andrew, follows the dramatic collapse of a criminal prosecution linked to a 2023 Rio Cobre pollution incident that allegedly led to a fish kill.

NEPA, the enforcement arm of the Natural Resources Conservation Authority, said it "wishes to clarify information relating to the Wisynco-NEPA matter".

The charge, filed by NEPA’s attorneys under a general fiat from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Paula Llewellyn, was dismissed on Monday after prosecutors indicated they were offering no further evidence.

The trial began in October last year, but the absence of scientific evidence meant the case could not meet the legal threshold under Section 11 of the Wild Life Protection Act, which prohibits the deposit of trade effluent or other polluting matter into fish-bearing waters.

The charge followed a report received on July 18, 2023, of a pipeline leakage that caused officers from the NEPA to visit the Rio Cobre in the vicinity of Dyke Road, where they reportedly observed that “fluid was gushing from the pipeline into the river”, according to the ODPP.

Llewellyn, in a public statement on Monday, said a review of the case file prepared by the NEPA revealed that several critical evidentiary “ingredients” were missing.

As an example, she said no samples of water were taken by the NEPA from the area beneath where the fluid was seen gushing into the river for testing. The testing would help determine whether the substance fell within the definition of trade effluent, industrial waste, sewage, noxious or polluting matter.

Similarly, Llewellyn said no sample was taken by the NEPA from the source of the pipeline attached to Wisynco, which was seen from the break in the pipe that was discharging fluids into the river for testing.

The debacle has prompted sharp rebuke from environmental watchdogs and legal experts.

“It’s a disgrace that a pollution incident received such scant regard from our environment regulator,” said Dr Theresa Rodriquez Moodie, CEO of the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET). “NEPA failed to carry out even the most basic investigative steps, leaving no usable evidence. The case dropped, and no one is being held accountable.”

Prominent criminal attorney King’s Counsel Peter Champagnie labelled the situation “alarming” and urged state agencies with prosecutorial powers to seek guidance from the ODPP before pursuing major cases.

“It suggests a disconnect between NEPA’s understanding of its role and the importance of proper legal consultation,” he told The Gleaner. “If that continues, we are going to see more cases like this fall apart.”

This is the second high-profile environmental case involving the Rio Cobre to collapse in recent months. Last November, Trade Winds Citrus Limited was similarly acquitted after NEPA's legal team abruptly offered no further evidence, following a confidential settlement agreement.

The DPP took direct control of environmental prosecutions following the Trade Winds debacle.

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