(Trinidad Guardian) Corporations will now have to pay larger fees than smaller organisations for water pollution. Environmental legislation stipulating the same fees, regardless of the size of the company and the amount of pollution they release into the environment, has been deemed illegal.
In a 28-page judgment, delivered in the Port-of-Spain High Court, Justice Devindra Rampersad ruled that existing calculations of annual permit fees under the Water Pollution (Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 2006 are illegal and contrary to the National Environmental Policy (NEP), which was adopted by the Government in 1998.
The judicial-review lawsuit which challenged the legislation was brought by the environmental activist group Fishermen and Friends of the Sea, in December 2008 and listed the Ministry of Environment as the respondent.
The legislation requires entities to pay a flat $10,000 annual fee, which is collected by the Environmental Management Authority (EMA), and allows the holder to pollute the environment under terms and conditions specified by the EMA.
In its defence the ministry brought several witnesses, including former Environment Minister Dr Reeza Mohammed, who claimed the existing policy was the most user-friendly and sustainable.
