Mearle D.P. Barrett
Natural Resources Conservation Authority

Since the beginning of time, man’s activities have had an impact on his environment and vice versa.

In June 1991, Jamaica enacted legislation establishing a Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA) with responsibility for management of the physical environment of the entire nation.

The current system of waste management at the national level has institutions with overlapping responsibilities but the NRCA retains overall responsibility for hazardous waste management.

An Order prescribing the entire island and prohibiting certain activities without the grant of permits by the NRCA came into effect on January 1, 1997. The list of prescribed categories of activities including hazardous waste treatment storage and disposal facilities has been published in the Jamaica Gazette.

Jamaica is a party to the following international conventions:

• Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region, 1983 (Cartengena Convention)
• International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships [MARPOL 73/78]
• Convention of the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and other matter (as amended) London, Mexico City, Moscow, [Washington 1972] - and is in the process of becoming a party to the:
• Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste and their Disposal, as soon as the local legislation required for this convention is drafted.

In order for a permit to be issued to a developer of a hazardous waste facility an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) will have to be completed according to terms of reference agreed with the NRCA. Prospective owners and operators of waste disposal facilities also have access to guidelines for selection and siting of hazardous and solid waste disposal facilities and to operating guidelines for waste disposal facilities.

The NRCA is prepared to receive applications for permits for such facilities and to evaluate all such proposals within a reasonable timeframe.

Since the beginning of time man’s activities have had an impact on his environment and vice versa. With increasing industrialization, this relationship has become even more important. Thus the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Sweden in 1972 ended with specific recommendations in respect of the ozone layer and acid rain among other things.

Jamaica was represented and born out of this experience established a Natural Resources Conservation Department in 1974. This was to be upgraded and expanded to become the Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA) established by Act of Parliament in June 1991 to manage, protect and conserve the natural resources of Jamaica.

The NRCA was given responsibility for environmental management of the entire nation and was mandated to administer four pieces of legislation, the Beach Control Act, the Wild life Protection Act, the Watersheds Protection Act and the NRCA Act, with the latter being the most comprehensive.

In 1992, the agency, the Natural Resources Conservation Authority as one of its first tasks established a Pollution Control and Waste Management Branch. This Branch interfaces with other government agencies in the current system of waste management at the national level. There are three (3) institutions within the public sector involved with solid waste management, namely, the Ministry of Local Government, Youth and Community Development, formerly the Ministry of Local Government and Works, the Water Resources Authority(WRA) formerly the Underground Water Authority (UWA) and the NRCA. Within this system of over-lapping responsibilities and fragmentation of agencies, the NRCA retains overall responsibility for hazardous waste management.

With the broad mandate given to the NRCA by the Act of 1991, the Authority has power to

• issue permits to the person responsible for undertaking any enterprise, construction or development of a prescribed category in a prescribed area. [Section 9 NRCA Act]
• issue licences for discharge of trade or sewage effluent [Section 12 NRCA Act]
• revoke or suspend permits which have been breached
• request information on pollution control facilities [Section 17 NRCA Act]

The Order prescribing the entire island has been prepared and came into effect on January 1, 1997. It includes the prescribed categories of activities which will need permits. (See Appendix 1) The list of prescribed categories includes industrial waste water treatment, solid waste treatment and disposal, hazardous waste storage treatment, and disposal facilities. Within this context the Authority intends to issue permits and licences for landfill sites, incinerators, sewage treatment plants and industrial waste water treatment plants. The permits and licences will be required for all new facilities, the existing facilities will be licenced on a phased basis.

Section 17 of the Act stipulates that any of those facilities or any "for the abatement of air pollution or any other facility for controlling pollution "may be required to submit information to the Authority on the

• performance of the facility
• quantity and condition of effluent discharged
• area affected by the discharge of effluents

In addition the NRCA Act empowers the Minister to make regulations in relation to:

• quantity, condition or concentration of the substances that maybe released into the environment
• the design, construction, operation and maintenance and monitoring of facilities for the control of pollution and the disposal of waste.

In terms of the international conventions related to waste management, Jamaica is a party to the:

• Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region, 1983.
• International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL 73/78)
• Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and other matter (as amended) London, Mexico City, Moscow, [Washington 1972] and the Cabinet in July 1995 gave approval for Jamaica to become a party to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste and their Disposal as soon as the local legislation required for this convention is drafted.

There exist a discussion draft entitled the Natural Resources (Hazardous Waste) (Control of Movement) Regulations 1997 now actively under consideration which governs the export of hazardous waste and a draft Garbage Collection and Disposal Regulation (1195) under the Public Health Act which has provisions for the licencing of haulage contractors of hazardous, toxic and noxious waste. Regulations governing movement and disposal of hazardous waste on the island are also targetted to be developed.

Recognising the need for a comprehensive policy framework and regulations for waste management, including hazardous waste, the NRCA established in 1994, a National Waste Management Technical Committee to inter alia, prepare a national policy framework document, to review existing and draft legislation, to recommend legislation to drafted and to prepare guidelines, codes of practice and Standards (where applicable) for waste management. A first draft of a policy framework document is to be circulated for public consultations. The draft Natural Resources (Hazardous Waste) (Control of Movement) Regulations 1995, as mentioned earlier is under review and guidelines for management of waste in selected sectors are being developed. There is also a draft National PCB Management Plan providing guidelines for companies in the preparation of their individual management plans. The plan outlines general principles for handling, storage and disposal of PCBs. Based on this draft National PCB Management Plan, an overall policy for PCB management and guidelines for management of PCB wastes are to be prepared.

Special wastes such as hospital medical waste and radioactive waste will also be covered by the policy framework and the regulations. The regulations will make reference to the various guidelines as necessary.

A solid waste management study recently completed is expected to identify a short term strategy for policy, planning and investments and to develop a proposal for a long-term strategy for solid waste management, presenting it as a National Solid Waste Management Plan for the country. This project is funded by the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

The study summarised the existing conditions and concluded generally that the hazardous waste problem in Jamaica was apparently less serious than the general solid waste problems arising from the consumption related to the household sector. Several wastes, namely, explosives, asbestos and boiler ash from incineration were, however excluded from the study. Data on hazardous waste generated is sparse and the study has only estimated the quantities based on review of the existing industrial structure and visits to industries of interest as generators of hazardous waste. One likely reason the data on hazardous waste generated is so sparse is the lack of regulations governing record-keeping and notification of the authorities by the generators. There is still need for a comprehensive hazardous waste inventory on a national scale.

The number of industries traditionally known as hazardous waste generators are limited. The main ones, bauxite. Oil and petrochemical are conscious of their responsibility for waste management and although contributing to the amount of hazardous waste, so far have not posed a serious hazardous waste problem. Other smaller industries such as tanneries, pesticides manufacturing, paint manufacturing do not generate excessive quantities as their numbers are small.

The Government through the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) is also in discussion with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)in respect of Model Projects on Upgrading Radiation Protection and Waste Management Infrastructure. To date the project has focussed on radiation protection by the monitoring of radiation workers at the major public hospitals islandwide.

The International Centre for Environmental and Nuclear Sciences (ICENS), formerly the Centre of Nuclear Sciences (CNS) at the University of the West Indies (UWI) has been the lead national agency in monitoring the radiation workers, through this IAEA assisted project. The most recent assistance was a programmer who worked on a database for the monitoring results obtained in 1996.

The future direction will see the Ministry of Health and the NRCA collaborating to formulate policy and draft regulations governing the waste management infrastructure with an on-going programme of monitoring by the ICENS

The Permit and Licence System has been designed to ensure that environmental considerations are taken into account early in the life of a project, so that environmental impact assessments can be conducted and used as a planning tool. One of the main objectives of the system is to provide a mechanism to ensure that all new enterprise, construction or development, including hazardous waste disposal facilities, with their discharges, mitigate as much as is reasonably possible the adverse effects on the environment. The system involves the issuance of permits to construct and operate the facility and licences for the discharge of effluent or emissions.

In order for a permit to be issued the developer of a hazardous waste facility will have to have an EIA study completed according to terms of reference agreed with the NRCA. The NRCA will review the EIA report and determine the conditions under which the permit will be issued or refused. Draft Guidelines for the selection and Siting of Hazardous and Solid Waste Disposal Facilities exist and Procedures and Requirements for Permitting and Operation of Waste Disposal Facilities are also ready in draft form for the guidance of prospective owners and operators of waste disposal facilities. One of the standard condition will be a requirement for environmental monitoring and reporting to the NRCA on an agreed frequency. NRCA will also established its own schedule of post-permit compliance monitoring.

The regulations to be drafted to support the Permit and Licence System have been identified and initial drafting has begun.

To date no permits or licences have been issued to hazardous waste disposal facilities but once the regulations are in place, existing generators of hazardous waste will have to make arrangements for adequate record keeping, treatment and disposal.

It is expected that the system will allow for tremendous improvement in the way hazardous waste is handled, and an orderly development process with sustainable practices being achieved on a national level.

1. Jamaica, State of the Environment, The Draft 1997 Report.
2. Government of Jamaica Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Project (JA-0035).

Prescribed Description of Category of Enterprise, Construction or Development in a Prescribed Area which will require a Permit in accordance with Section 9 of the NRCA Act and may require an EIA in accordance with Section 10

1. Power generation plants

2. Electrical transmission lines and substations greater than 69kV

3. Pipelines and conveyors, including underground cables, gas lines and other such infrastructure with diameter of 15cm and over

4. Port and harbour developments

5. Development projects

• subdivisions of 10 or more lots
• housing projects of 10 houses or more
• hotel/resort complex of more than 12 rooms
• airports including runway expansion greater than 20%
• office complex greater than 5000 square metres

6. Ecotourism projects

7. Water treatment facilities including water supply, desalination plants, sewage and industrial waste water

8. Mining and mineral processing

• bauxite
• minerals – including aggregate, construction and industrial minerals
• peat -- metallic
• sand -- non-metallic

9. Metal processing

• non-ferrous metals
• ferrous metals
• foundry operations, metal plating

10. Industrial Projects

• chemical plants
• pulp, paper and wood processing
• petroleum production, refinery, storage and stockpiling
• food processing plants
• fish and meat processing plants
• tanneries
• detergent manufacture, including manufacturing of soap
• distillery, brewing and fermenting facilities
• cement and lime production
• manufacture of textiles
• manufacture of pesticides or other hazardous or toxic substances
• paint manufacture
• boxing plants
• manufacture of containers and packaging materials including cans, bottles, boxes and cartons
• manufacture of edible fats, oils and associated processes
• citrus, coffee, cocoa, coconut, sugarcane processing factories
• solar salt production

11. Construction of new highways, arterial roads and major road improvements projects

12. River basin development projects

13. Irrigation or water management projects including improvements

14. Land reclamation and drainage projects

15. Watershed development and soil conservation projects including river training, check dams, and retaining wall

16. Modification, clearance or reclamation of wetlands

17. Solid waste treatment storage and disposal facilities

19. Processing of agriculture waste

20. Cemeteries and crematoria

21. Introduction of species of flora, fauna and genetic material

22. Slaughterhouse or abattoir

23. Felling of trees and clearing of land of 10 hectares or over for agricultural development

24. Clear cutting of forested areas of 3 hectares and over on slopes greater than 25 degrees

*Hazardous waste means waste that falls within any category specified in Annex 1 of the Basel Convention unless it does not possess any of the characteristics specified in Annex III of the said Convention

BACK