Govt reduces illegal quarrying

Responding to a question from Opposition senator Jennifer Jones Kernahan about illegal quarrying in TT, the ministry’s minerals director Richard Oliver said “enforcement work” by the security forces since November 2005 have significantly curbed the levels of illegal quarrying in TT. He said operations by the security forces have resulted in equipment being seized, persons being charged with illegal quarrying and those matters are currently before the courts. In November 2005, Prime Minister Patrick Manning and Special Anti Crime Unit director Brigadier Peter Joseph pledged to curb the levels of illegal quarrying taking place in TT.

Oliver said while there were issues of illegal quarrying in Tobago in the mid-1990s, this is no longer the case today because the majority of the quarries in the sister isle were on private lands and this facilitated better management of resources. Energy Ministry permanent secretary Leroy Mayers further indicated that contained in draft quarrying legislation that will come to Parliament shortly, would be punitive measures to deal with illegal quarry operators. Mayers also said there was no evidence to suggest that material from illegal quarries had found its way on to any of the construction projects that are currently being undertaken by State agencies.

Revealing that TT currently has an estimated 15 million cubic yards of aggregate, Oliver said that new lands have been made available in Tamana in April to five quarry operators.