Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud issued a letter last week to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) urging it to take action so that Strathavon, East Coast residents can be relieved of the plight they face from the ash and smoke emanating from a paddy chaff dump site.

Executive Director of the EPA Doerga Persaud told Stabroek News yesterday that they will revisit the area to decide what course of action to take. He said that the EPA had sent recent letters to the chairman of the Cane Grove NDC, as was reported in an earlier edition of the Stabroek News, and  investigations will have to be carried out to determine why there has been no compliance as yet.

Persaud said that there are several courses of action that can be taken against the parties but he will refrain from discussing those until another visit is made to the area and discussions are held with all those involved.

The letter from Persaud said that the Ministry of Agriculture is sympathetic to the Strathavon residents and had received numerous complaints, including a recent visit to the minister. It stated that although the ministry is advising persons to ‘grow more,’ the production process should not be a bother to residents. It acknowledged the fact that the Cane Grove mill worked “diligently” to rectify the problem at its mill, “but seems to have transferred the problem to the Strathavon area.”

The letter stated that if anyone had approved the Strathavon site for the dumping of the paddy chaff then it should be “rescinded” and appropriate measures should be taken to cover the ashes at the heap and the NDC should help in the selection of an appropriate site for further dumping.    

It also informed that the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) will be instructed to ensure that the rice mill complies with the ruling of the EPA.
The woes of the residents were related in a news item in Monday’s edition of Stabroek News.