Jersey In Peril - December 2009

Save Our Shoreline have received evidence from the former EfW Site Project Manager's Consultant confirming their gravest concerns regarding the ongoing discharge of contaminated waters into the Channel Island's first UN Ramsar Wetland of International Importance.

Committed to the public interest, SOS have requested the above mentioned witness to send a complete dossier directly to the States of Jersey Environment Scrutiny Panel, and he has agreed to do so as soon as possible.

SOS remain fully supportive of the work undertaken by the Environment Scrutiny Panel who recently published the following résumé of progress relating to their investigation - Energy from Waste Plant and Ramsar: Review of Planning Process - "With expert assistance from its adviser, Mr Rob McInness of Bioscan (UK) Ltd., the Panel held two more public hearings in connection with this review on 18th September. Despite some delays obtaining evidence the Panel hopes to complete its report to the States soon. Initial conclusions are that the planning process may not have given sufficient emphasis to the States' responsibilities under the Ramsar Convention and the final report will address this amongst other findings." (Scrutiny Matters Edition 5 Autumn 2009)

However, we and others have serious reservations reference the judgement of Planning and Environment's Chief Executive Officer in this matter - repeatedly refusing to accept that there are shortcomings in the Environmental Statement pertaining to the Island's new incinerator (see below) - despite apologies made by his staff and an acknowledgement by his Minister.

LATEST NEWS EfW

Reference the pollution incident 28th April, 2009 SOS has received confirmation from Senator Paul Routier, Minister for Harbours and Airports, that no members of the Harbours team (including the Harbours pollution team) were alerted by the Environmental Protection Division.

The Marine and Coastal Officer was not alerted, even though he has special responsibility for the SE Coast Ramsar Wetland of International Importance.

We understand the Jersey Aquaculture Association including the Island's oyster farmers were not alerted.

The media were kept in ignorance of this serious pollution incident at EfW.

SOS have to ask why the Environmental Protection Division, whose duty it is to handle pollution incidents, would wish to keep such a major incident quiet?

In an email to our Pollution Consultant, Mrs Lara Luke, dated 26th November, Mr Andy Scate, CEO of Planning and Environment, had this to say: "I would ask that you let the environmental protection team do their job and to trust in our well qualified and experienced professionals...The Environment team are one of the guardians of the environment for the Island. We develop and implement regulations and we do operate with the environment and the law in mind."

We would ask in that case why they elected not to do so? The April 28th incident happened 8 months ago and yet the EPD has declined to interview the principal witness, the former Project Manager of EfW. As guardians of our environment they seem defensive and secretive rather than proactive.

As long ago as March 2009 SOS were told by the Water Regulator that there was not a problem when we had adequately proven to Scrutiny's satisfaction that there was. The incidents in question would have been well known to the EPD at the time they were happening, yet we are aware that they did nothing to alert the relevant authorities as was their moral and legal duty. It is clear that work on the EfW plant continued while the laws that Mr. Scate referred to were being broken and the Ramsar area was polluted by untreated leachate.

Mr. Scate also confirmed: "The Planning and Environment Department has already been in dialogue with Scrutiny both in private and public hearing and we have been very clear what can and cannot be shared with the panel at this time."

It is clear that the Panel have received only partial answers to their questions. SOS have examined the transcripts and can find ambiguous, misleading and demonstrably untrue statements in some of the answers given. Clearly some department officers have not been as open with Scrutiny as one would have hoped.

Pressure has been put on SOS by Mr. Scate not to release information gathered in case it may prejudice the investigation. Having examined TTS internal documents and other eye witness accounts and photographs, SOS consultants can see that there are critical discrepancies between TTS's interpretation of events and the 'on the spot' qualified eye witness evidence and photographs. TTS and EPD officers are too close to each other not to be themselves potentially conflicted. TTS are also 'clients' as concerns the EfW plant and are thus held by the contractors CSBC to be responsible for many of the current problems the contractors face. Again, SOS can't go into this in detail, but an unacceptable situation clearly exists.

SOS would prefer that should any investigation be completed, the technical overview be conducted by a qualified external consultant with extensive expertise, and not overseen by potentially compromised Departmental Officers. We believe the current consultant to Scrutiny Mr. Rob McInnes, who has already spent many months on this review should continue to be the designated consultant in this matter.

SOS are putting their trust in the Scrutiny process which over the past nine months has been thorough and measured. In this special case we have agreed not to release evidence publicly unless it becomes absolutely necessary, on finding there is no alternative but to do so.

ZEPHRYUS UPDATE - A plea to Senator Freddie Cohen.

SOS recently submitted a submission to Planning as key stakeholders on the above. The details can be found here.

In the light of new evidence received about the Planning Process and activities on the EfW plant, details of which are so sensitive that we cannot publish them as outlined above, we asked for a private meeting with Planning & Environment Minister Freddie Cohen.

Minister Cohen declined to meet us, for unknown reasons, and in the States recently rejected a call from Deputy Daniel Wimberley to wait until Scrutiny had completed their report.

We have therefore arranged to make this new evidence available to Scrutiny and we again say to the Minister:

Save Our Shoreline submit that pending decisions related to the West of Albert Zepyrus development should be placed on hold until the Environment Scrutiny Panel report.