KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Chairman of the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) Weldon Maddan has resigned following the agency’s controversial decision to drop criminal charges against a company – Trade Winds Citrus, that was reportedly responsible for an oil spill in a river located in the central parish of St Catherine last year.
Weldon MaddanMaddan’s resignation was made in a release issued on Friday from the office of the Minister Without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Matthew Samuda.
According to Samuda, the Government of Jamaica was not satisfied that the issue was handled at the Board level with the required standards of transparency and openness.
Maddan resigned as pressure mounted for the NEPA to provide details on how it entered into a confidential deal with Trade Winds Citrus Limited during a criminal prosecution against the company.
The deal was struck without the knowledge of the court.
NEPA had taken the company to court for an oil spill in the Rio Cobre in St. Catherine in December 2023.
The government agency later disclosed that a malfunctioning boiler from the old Jamaica Beverage Plant, now owned and operated by Trade Winds Citrus Limited, was the source of the oil spill.
However, earlier this week, it was announced that NEPA intended to withdraw the charges.
An attorney for the agency informed the presiding judge that a settlement has been reached with the company, but when the judge requested the agreement for the court’s scrutiny, the lawyer told her that it was confidential.
In a statement on Friday, Samuda said the government is aware of public concerns regarding NEPA’s handling of the pollution event involving Trade Winds Citrus Limited.
He said there have also been valid expressions of concern regarding the inclusion of a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) clause in the mediated settlement.
Samuda added that he has instructed NEPA to waive its rights under the NDA and to immediately publish the agreement and the chronology related to the incident.
In response, Kestonard Gordon, Vice Chairman of the St. Catherine Parish Development Committee and President of Friends of the Rio Cobre, said the issue will fuel public distrust of NEPA.
“We are concerned about the existence of a settlement that we don’t know about; we are concerned about the fact that the community has not been a beneficiary of any compensation; and we are also concerned about the fact that the attorney that represents Trade Winds Citrus is the same attorney that represents (the bauxite company) Windalco. And we are afraid that if you cut a deal with Trade Winds Citrus, then we are in great problems in relation to Windalco,” he said.
Meanwhile – some environmental groups, including the Jamaica Environment Trust and Friends of Rio Cobre, have responded to the development saying “the decision sets a dangerous precedent that trivialises environmental violations and prioritises corporate interests over the health of natural resources and justice for impacted Jamaicans.”
They say the decision to withdraw the charges entirely, without explanation or transparency is incomprehensible.
This is a betrayal of the people NEPA is supposed to protect,” said Dr Theresa Rodriguez-Moodie, CEO of JET. “Why would NEPA abandon criminal charges when the evidence was clear? This lack of transparency erodes public trust and sends a message that polluters can negotiate their way out of accountability.”
And Kestonard Gordon of Friends of the Rio Cobre said, “We are shocked and disappointed. NEPA owes the public answers. What are the terms of this secret settlement, and why were the charges dropped? This decision undermines justice and leaves the community to suffer the consequences of pollution of a major river.”
The main opposition, People’s National Party (PNP) has also joined environmental groups in raising concern over the decision of the matter.
