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(CNS): The Central Planning Authority has adjourned an application for the excavation of a new quarry in Meagre Bay Pond after developers argued that Cayman has a fill shortage and the policy relating to the country’s aggregate reserves is out of date. The CPA said the policy needs to be revisited, as members questioned the accuracy of the current fill reserves and said that the application should not be refused on that factor alone.
Following the 21 June meeting, when the application for a commercial quarry near the Meagre Bay Pond nature reserve was heard, the CPA said the applicants, Barrington Bennett and Amelia De Wood, would be required to conduct an environmental impact assessment before the board gives further consideration of the proposal.
But according to the minutes, during that meeting the developers dismissed the findings of the experts at the Department of Environment about the negative impact that quarrying is having on the Meagre Bay Pond nature reserve. They suggested that the mangroves at the location are not mangroves, though no explanation was given for that opinion.
However, most of the discussion focused on how the Aggregate Advisory Committee is overseeing the outdated policy, the lack of up-to-date information on the local supply and demand for marl, and the developers’ contention that there is a shortage.
The quarry applicants said the aggregate policy was flawed and had created a cartel, whereby prices were at the whim of operators, who were taking advantage of the policy. They said they had met with the AAC and claimed the members had agreed the policy was out of date, with a 25% margin of error on how they calculate whether or not there is enough supply coming from the current quarries.
The applicants said that, in reality, the committee does not know the current fill reserves and the policy was blocking the CPA from approving new quarries based on inaccurate information. However, the minutes document that there are currently nine quarries in operation on Grand Cayman.
The applicants also stated that they did not want to undertake the EIA unless it was a condition of approval because such an assessment is expensive and the application could still be refused once the aggregate stocks had been properly reviewed.
The CPA said it had only two options: adjourn for an EIA or refuse the application. However, the board told the applicants they could appeal the NCC’s directive regarding an EIA to Cabinet.
See the full minutes of the CPA meeting in the CNS Library.
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