Alcoa begins environment study in Chatham

UNITED States-based Alcoa has begun to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in Chatham and Cap-de-Ville to determine the extent to which their proposed aluminium smelter plant would affect the residents’ health and the environment. In disclosing this to Newsday from New York yesterday, Alcoa’s vice president Wade Hughes said that consulting with villagers was an integral part of their impact assessment. Alcoa and the National Energy Corporation (NEC) have already held a meeting with the villagers, who have formed themselves into the Chatham/Cap-de-Ville Combined Environmental Protection Group (CCEPG).

The group is opposing construction of the smelter. More than 300 villagers demonstrated their resistance last week when they packed the Chatham Community Centre. The plant is to be built on 600 acres of land in Chatham. Senior Counsel Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj has written a letter on the villagers’ behalf to Prime Minister Patrick Manning. Alcoa’s project leader Randy Overby and NEC’s corporate communications manager Jeannette Elias met three weeks ago with CCEPG’s executive membership. They fielded direct questions about the environmental impact of the plant on the villages, where residents’ livelihoods are based on agriculture and fishing.

Hughes said it was a requirement by law and provisions of the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) for Alcoa to conduct an impact assessment. “EMA expects Alcoa and NEC to consult widely with the community. We also wanted to explain how the EIA process works and encourage the residents to be part of the process, as it is their right to participate,” He also said the consultation process had only just begun. “Alcoa is committed to working directly with the people in the community so we can provide information, answer questions and seek answers directly,” Hughes said. He reminded, however, that the smelter was only being proposed. There was no commitment yet, he added. He reiterated that any such plant construction in Chatham would be subject to an impact assessment and in accordance with EMA standards.