The Tribune

By FAY SIMMONS

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

The Government’s top environmental official yesterday said a key approval is required “no matter what” amid fears this will “roadblock” $24m worth of Hope Town construction projects.

Dr Rhianna Neely-Murphy, the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection’s (DEPP) director, confirmed that every development must obtain a Certificate of Environmental Clearance (CEC) to ensure the environment is protected during their build-out.

She was also backed by the Ministry of Works and Local Government, which warned that no council or local authority can lawfully “suspend or fail to perform its functions” as the Hope Town District Council had threatened to do over the CEC issue. It had mulled placing its Town Planning and Port Department permitting on hold until the matter is resolved.

However, the ministry added that the Environmental Planning and Protection Act was recently amended to allow for faster applications and approvals of a “non-commercial” nature, which it argued should address the Hope Town concerns.

“Every development that happens in the country is required to complete a Certificate of Environment Clearance. In the island administrator’s office, under their Act, they have the authority to act as Physical Planning; Town Planning and make those kinds of decisions,” Dr Neely-Murphy said.

“Every application, every time that you do work in the environment, you need to apply for a Certificate of Environmental Clearance no matter what it is.” But the Hope Town District Council had voiced its disapproval with the CEC requirements, fearing it may halt more than $24m in home construction applications.

Dr Neely-Murphy, however, said the Environmental Planning and Protection Act was enacted in 2019. DEPP representatives have been sent to Abaco to advise local communities and a written communication was sent to all Family Island administrators. She reiterated that the “law is the law and everybody in the country needs to comply with the law”.

“The Department of Environmental Protection Act was enacted in 2019. I don’t know what prompted this response from this settlement. There were no recent changes. The Act has been in place since 2019. And we have sent officers to Abaco on separate occasions to advise them,” Dr Neely-Murphy added.

“The Family Island administrators’ office has communicated this in writing to all of the administrators. This is not a new thing. This has been explained to them from 2019. The law is the law and everybody in the country needs to comply with the law.”

The Hope Town District Council said it deals with an average of 10-12 Port Department-related applications every month, and 18-20 Town Planning-related applications worth millions of dollars. It feels requiring a CEC for all projects would cause “major delays” in granting approvals, and called for the DEPP to assign an agent with an understanding of Hope Town to sit in on their monthly meetings to expedite the process.

Dr Neely-Murphy maintained that CEC applications only take a day or two to review, so having an agent attend the monthly meetings would be “counter-productive”. She added that if the Council is willing to pay for a DEPP agent to attend the meetings, the department will “see how we can accommodate that step”.

“These applications take, on average, one to two days to review. So having someone come to Abaco on a monthly basis in their meeting is really counter-productive. You could get applications reviewed and complete the review on a rolling basis,” Dr Neely-Murphy said.

“Now if the Hope Town settlement is willing to pay for the officers from the department to come their meeting, then we will see how we can accommodate that step.”

When asked as to why a member of the Hope Town Council said he has been awaiting CEC approval for a dock for almost six months, if the turnaround time is one to two days, Dr Neely-Murphy said projects that are in “sensitive areas” may need additional studies.

She said: “If you have a simple dock, in most instances that review takes 24 to 48 hours, and you can get a certificate of environmental clearance once all your documents are in.

“If you are in a sensitive area, such as a mangrove or along a beach or coastline that needs some work, then you may be required to do additional environmental studies. And if those are necessary, then those are necessary. Our job as a department is to safeguard and protect the environment, to preserve the environment for ourselves to ensure it is functioning the way it needs to for all of our benefits.”

Dr Neely-Murphy maintained that DEPP officers travel to all Family Islands on a regular basis to conduct site visits and follow up with approved projects to ensure they are complying with their CEC.

She said: “We had officers travel to Abaco earlier this year, and we try to get to the Family Islands on a regular basis to ensure that if there is any development going on that we are not aware of, that we are able to conduct our checks and balances and follow up with developments that have been approved to make sure that they are progressing in in compliance with the certificate of environmental clearance.”

Clay Sweeting, minister of works and Family Island affairs, confirmed in a statement that the Government has amended the Environmental Planning and Protection Act to streamline the CEC application process. He added that island administrators and local government have been provided with CEC guidelines and that no local council can “suspend or fail to perform its functions” under the law.

He said: “I am happy to advise that the Government of The Bahamas recently amended the Environmental Planning and Protection Act to provide a framework for streamlined application and approvals for non-commercial applications for a Certificate of Environmental Clearance.

“We are committed to ensuring we are good stewards for our environment while also facilitating economic development and investment. All Family Island administrators and local government practitioners have been provided with the aforementioned guidelines as this matter has been addressed previously.

“In the circumstances, no local council can, under the law, suspend or fail to perform its functions as is being suggested by the chairman of the Hope Town Council.”