Ramesh: EMA in a straightjacket — judgment reserved

The Environmental Man-agement Authority (EMA) has found itself in a straightjacket from which it is unable to remove itself, said attorney Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj SC yesterday in his closing address in a judicial review motion brought against the EMA. Maharaj also said that the EMA does not have any defence to the motion filed by Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS), challenging the EMA’s decision to grant a certificate of environmental clearance to Atlantic LNG (ALNG) for the construction and operation of the Train IV project.

Since last week, Justice Humphrey Stollmeyer, sitting in the Port-of-Spain First Civil Court, has been hearing submissions from Maharaj, attorneys Russell Martineau SC representing the EMA and Martin Daly SC representing ALNG. After hearing closing arguments yesterday, Stollmeyer announced that he will give judgment on a date to be fixed. Martineau’s position was that the EMA did not yield to pressure from ALNG in granting the certificate nor was it unfair to the residents of Point Fortin, who have expressed health concerns. Daly, who represented ALNG as an interested party in the matter, asked the court to find that the EMA followed all statutory requirements as was required under the governing legislation. The FFOS filed the court action on behalf of residents of Point Fortin who have expressed concern about the hazardous effect of the handling of hydrocarbon in the area. The legal documents were filed on June 6, 2003. Attorneys Maharaj, Dr Rajendra Ramlogan and Darrell Allahar appeared for the FFOS, while Martineau and Deborah Peake appeared for the EMA.