Managing and Protecting Jamaica's Land, Wood, Air and Water.
The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Leonard Francis as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective from April 2, 2024. Succeeding the esteemed Mr. Peter Knight, who led the agency with distinction until his retirement on March 31, 2024, Mr. Francis is set to continue the legacy of excellence in environmental stewardship and planning.
The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) notes the concerns expressed by hoteliers in Negril regarding the clearing of seagrass from affected beaches. The unusually high volume of seagrass, seaweed and debris on the Negril shoreline was as a result of the recent weather event, i.e., a cold front and the associated storm surge, combined with heavy rainfall on the western end of the island. The storm surge deposited mounds of the material onto shore.
As part of its on-going investigation, the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), is now in a position to update the country on the recent fish kill in the Harbour Head area in Kingston.
Yesterday (December 11, 2023) at about 5pm, NEPA received a report that there is an oil spill in the Bog Walk Gorge. We dispatched a team immediately to the area to do an assessment. The team also went there this morning to continue their investigation. Our investigation revealed the source of the spill as coming from a factory operating in the area. NEPA has since met with the company’s management team who is cooperating with the Agency to undertake the necessary clean-up exercise.
The National Environment and Planning Agency’s (NEPA) investigation into the oil spill in the Bog Walk area has identified the source of the leak as a malfunctioning boiler from the old Jamaica Beverage Plant, now owned and operated by Trade Winds Citrus Limited. That facility has the required bunding in place to contain the oil, however, the leak that occurred last weekend was from the defective boiler.
