Cane Grove Rice Mill refutes charges environmental pollution

Oct 27, 2012 News

The Cane Grove Rice Mill yesterday issued a statement refuting the claims put forward by the Alliance For Change (AFC) that it has contributed to environmental pollution and jeopardized the health of some nearby residents.
The company stated that it has fulfilled the requirements and recommendations imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the operations of its rice mill and considers the statements by the AFC “inaccurate and irresponsible.”
AFC, two weeks ago, sought to inform the public that it will be pursuing complaints from residents of Cane Grove, East Coast Demerara, about dust pollution from the said rice mill.
The party noted that some of its executive members made a visit to the community and gathered first hand information on the harm that impacted the community from the rice mill. During the visit, residents lamented the continued problems they face with dust emanating from the rice mill.
“Residents again showed the AFC their homes, with the dust being evident everywhere. They are forced to keep their windows locked, but even that does not keep the dust out. Many complained of respiratory ailments and itchy skin. One person even brought out her children who she said were asthmatic as a result of the dust.
“The EPA, inexplicably, is taking a soft stance on the issue, referring to residents as squatters. The residents in the immediate vicinity of the rice mill are not squatters, but mainly the descendants of the sugar workers who were given the lands of the old sugar estate that was closed in 1947.
Moreover, there is at least one documented case of the EPA requiring a sand pit operator to sign an agreement with squatters before it would grant its environmental permit,” AFC said.
The party said that Anil Nandlall, the Attorney General, had been retained by the residents some years ago, but according to them, he has not communicated anything on the status of the legal proceedings.
However, management of the rice mill yesterday noted that it finds it “regrettable and unacceptable”, that the AFC did not meet with them or “consult the hundreds of rice farmers served by the mill, to ascertain the facts of this matter while purporting to represent the interest of residents in the area.”
The company noted that there are four persons who are illegally occupying land to the leeward side of the rice mill designated as a reserve, who have continually and erroneously complained about dust from the mill’s operations.
“The Cane Grove Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) and the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development have acknowledged that these persons are squatting on the reserve and should be relocated.”
Further, the statement noted that “the management of Cane Grove Rice Mill, in May this year, offered some six acres of prime land in the district for the relocation of these persons and to help with their relocation.”
The company declared that the new management has been committed to protecting the environment from dust particle emissions from the operations of the rice mill and has engaged, “at significant cost”, professional consultancy services to advise them on regulating air pollution to conform to World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines and standards.
It was also disclosed that the company, working in collaboration with the EPA and on the advice of its environmental expert, has invested some $300M over the last few years, in the installation of dust control measures and mechanisms to ensure that the operations of the mill conform to the best international practices for dust pollution control.
“No other rice mill in Guyana is equipped with these facilities which include high pressure sprinkler and state-of-the-art dust filter systems.”
The AFC leadership is wrong on this matter and needs to get acquainted with the facts, the statement added.

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Cane Grove Rice Mill refutes charges environmental pollution

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