‘Blunders’ may have risked pollution
Tuesday 26th January 2010, 3:00PM GMT.
The incinerator under construction looks out over the Ramsar site Picture: PETER MOURANT (00877558)
A PROTECTED area of coastline could have been exposed to pollution because of a series of blunders in the planning process of the new incinerator, according to a damning new report.
A year-long review by the Environment Scrutiny panel has concluded that the environmental impact of the new energy-from-waste plant at La Collette was not properly investigated.
The review found that parts of the planning process ‘failed to comply with relevant standards’ and that monitoring and reporting of potential pollution risks during the construction appeared to be ‘weak’ and ‘lacking co-ordination’.
And it warned that Jersey may now have breached its obligations under the Ramsar Convention, which protects the area of sea adjacent to the incinerator.
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I have to admit that when I saw this on the news this morning I just laughed and shook my head… completely unsurprised!
This island is a joke.
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It’s fascinating to read and hear the Ministers of P+E and TTS trotting out the standard, ‘there are checks now in place’ we don’t agree with all the findings’ etc and blatant red herrings ‘but the bathing water is lovely’ and ‘we have fully complied with our international requirements’or ‘ but we haven’t given a warm water discharge licence yet’.
Just read the report on http://www.scrutiny.gov.je and see if YOU agree with them.
Classic ‘shut up we know better than everyone else, States spin’ versus rational, reasoned expert opinion of the truly independent variety.
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Is this going to worry the politicians – no!! they were told about this years ago and did what the States do best -ignored it, how’s it go All Hail the Money God !!!
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Didn’t a certain “exiled” States member warn of this pollution long before the year long investigation?
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Oh dear, yet another faux pas. Who will be held to account for this mess? Could this mean millions of pounds of tax payers money has been wasted because the island won’t be able to use the new incinerator? Shouldn’t those who made this mistake be required to resign? Will the head of the department responsible, be suspended like Graham Power? Tune in for another exciting series of Monty Python’s Flying Circus.
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And tell us somethink we didn’t already know! And as usual its, oh to late to do anything about it. strange that!
What i would like to know is, who was and still is in charge of the planning and development of this con they call a waste to energy. Lets just call it a waste of money, the wrong site, and its going to be damn ugly.
Didn’t it also cause problems due to the head of the States finance dept not realising there was a difference at the time between the pound and the Euro, is he now in charge of the states! hmm i Cant get my head around it! and the island wants to go independant. God help us all if this conning goes on any longer, its all just so some people in the states can make a fast buck through investments in a company wanting to build in the island. Its not for locals to get jobs. its not for the good of the island so who is it good for? Well some peoples pockets i think.
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Tony (4). Yes. And he was mocked for doing so… Funny how, despite so much condemnation from the COM and it’s little pixies, he keeps being proved right over things, isn’t it?
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Isn’t the truth of the matter that the c.o.m have viewed the Ramsar site as an impediment to their schemes rather than an Island asset of International importance and value to be treasured and preserved,my view is that nothing would please them more than for the site to lose it’s status…..and then yes you’re ahead of me already….build on it which is part of the ,Let’s bring in more punters to fund our out of control spending and overcrowding of the island which will fill pockets and the mug islanders will be left with a ruined island that once was as close to paradise as you could find in this part of the globe.Those of us who remember the Halcyon days know…the rest can only poohoo or surmise. But I can tell you it was Fab.
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Was this “damning new report” VETTED by the law offices department?
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KNEW IT, KNEW IT, KNEW IT. IT SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN BUILT.
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I have always thought that the best site for the incinerator would have been at Plemont. The five remaining puffins would have become nice and plump on the food waste and imagine the chervie that would have attracted the fish. The warm waters would also have encouraged some new species. What a pity, another great chance missed to attract the tourists.
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No – Martin, the LOD had no involvement – its an independent report and therefore no states employee involvement
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A popular phrase relating to organising a type of ‘celebration’ in a brewery comes to mind. First they didn’t fix the rate of the euro which cost millions, now they trash the coastline along the way, seriously, leave these kind of decisions to people who know what they are doing.
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Martin 9 and Lawyer 12.
This was obviously warts and all without ‘sanitisation’.
Bioscan and Rob are the realdeal. Not sure about Verita however.
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Perhaps the headline should have been ‘blunders have caused pollution’.
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I agree with other comments on here, our exiled member was attacked by the establishment for telling us about the States creating pollution 10 years ago but he was right what else is he right about??
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Is “Planning & Environment” an oxyMORON?
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Allright people, We can all learn something here, We all make some mistakes, it is not like , “We were told about it”.
Now, who can we pass the buck too.
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I am sure nobody is reponsible as always. And nobody will get dismissed! Blunders after blunders. We do not need a cicus in Jersey we have enough clowns!
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Yet again the Numpties who we refer to as our Government have messed it all up again. How incompetent can they collective decision making be?
They have ignored the majority of public opinion with annoying regularity. This one takes the biscuit. The effective and blatant destruction of a Ramsar site clearly gives the two finger salute to not only the public of jersey but all the scientists and environmentalist who are aiming to protect nature.
Ramsar is the location in Iran where the conference was held in 1975 aimed at protecting wetlands. The British Isles at 160 plus sites has the most of all the member states.
Jersey on the other hand has one less. This can only compound on the previous negative publicity the Island has attracted recently. It gives a clear indication the States certainly are playing to their own agenda and really don’t care about the electorate or international treaties.
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Tony #4
Tony Gallichan #7
Michael#16
The exiled one is the same as Michel de Nostradamus, If he predicts prolifically and copiously enough, eventually he will get one right (maybe ?), and the naive amongst us will point and say ” looky looky our exalted exiled one has been proved omniscient, you disbelievers will burn in hell for your blasphemy.
Trouble is, they have conveniently forgotten the ones he got wrong.
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By the way, JEP staff, and other media, still call the thing an “energy from waste” plant thus repeatedly legitimising a misleading description of it by TTS. I object to the greenwashing of a big mistake.
TTS are all too ready to claim that the new plant will meet EU standards of pollution and, if run properly at all times (a big if…), it should.
However, that same EU will classify what is being built at La Collette as a disposal plant because it will not be thermodynamically efficient enough to make their grade as an “energy from waste” plant. This is because it is not big enough. Mass burn incinerators are not regarded (by the incineration industry itself!) as efficient until they burn upwards of 200,000 tonnes per year – twice the size of Jersey’s disposal plant.
Senator Syvret, of course was warning about this situation decades ago. The chief responsibility should be born by “Professor” John Mulready who justified and presided over the incorporation of Bellozanne’s fly ash into the reclamation site.
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Should have listened to Stuart……. Im going to start paying more attention to his blog from now on… see what else he MIGHT be right about. I get the distinct feeling, now its obvious who was right and who was wrong over this pollution issue, that the COM say Stuart as a man who simply got in the way of THEIR progress plans…
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Posts #4, #7 and #16
You need to read the JEP report again and the Scrutiny report before comment. Despite what you thought or wanted to read al la Daily Mail, no one has stated this project has caused pollution. They said the EIA was not as full proof as it could have been and that this COULD lead to pollution, same as the world COULD be destroyed by and asteroid.
Bruce #10
These findings do not mean the incinerator should not have been built, it means the controls surrounding the EIA were not as stringent as the should have been.
Laura #15
Then the JEP would have had to print a retraction or risk being sued.
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A certain senator is being proven right again, and again,this monstrosity which he highlighted.
The horrid child abusers are being found out.
The toxic ash at the waterfront,stay tuned.
Not to mention the money laundering which is on the front of tonights paper.
If he,s not already back, he should be welcomed back to a heros welcome for showing up the island for what it is.
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It has to be said ,like him or loathe him..the boy Syvret has beeen right on so many occasions and was alienated from the main body of government incrementally, each time he flagged up the flyash or bad planning or hospital admin.sculduggery..No No you’re wrong…we are good boys and girls here,stop saying we aren’t or you wont be able to play with us anymore,,typical playground stuff which we the public have to witness daily…it is little wonder to me things panned out the way they have…and on and on it goes,bearing witness to the fact that we need a total Govt. reform and a new constitution drawn up along U.S. lines where people have rights and Oh yes nearly forgot, genuine democracy
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“If he,s not already back, he should be welcomed back to a heros welcome for showing up the island for what it is.”
This isn’t the one who jumped Bail is it?
When I read comments like yours I have to say that I doubt you live in Jersey because your knowledge is blinkered.
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Some people on here are hinting that a certain Senator warned about this. Well sorry to drop a bombshell but this was news before he got hold of it.
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Regarding Matts comment @ 27. I rather think its you thats living in the island with the blinkers on with your “old boys” stick together routine.
Why shouldnt the afformentioned gentleman skip bail if he thinks the judicial system is corrupt?
How could he possibly recieve any fair treatment thats built on corruption??
One who judges others,must first send the judge to jail for life.
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Was it Gary (#28)?
Can you please direct us all to where we can find the news on this before a ‘certain Senator’ got hold of it? Dates, names and references etc. You know, just the usual stuff a person would need to provide in order to validate an assertion.
Unless of course you have just made it up.
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Wake up Jersey – All those involved in this report have been openly hostile to our incinerator project from day one. This type of political spin has already cost the Island over £30 million on this project alone.
The “findings” do make scary readings until one looks up the natural composition of seawater which is full of such “contaminants”. Indeed the granite rocks around our coast are full of heavy metals. The reclamation site is not a toxic waste dump as these people make out – it is builders rubble and the resultant ash from burning our household rubbish which most countries just dump in massive land fill sites.
Please stop wasting our money and let those elected to govern get on with their job.
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31 Sanity.
Where to start!
Please check out the WRC reports (independent) on the make up of the fly and bottom ash that was originally dumped randomly and then into purpose made lined pits because of the risk.Many of the components are 10*6 (million times) higher than ambient and ranked as toxic by Vienna, Oslo and Paris International Conventions.
28 Gary
I was present when SS was arguing with ‘Professor’ Mulready in the early nineties on exactly this and PJM was ‘ actively divergent from the truth’ saying it was entirely safe ,you could feed it to your children etc. and the ‘noddy’ politicians just took it as gospel.
Mulready was wrong then and has been absolutely proven to be wrong now .
Gary and Sanity please check your facts first.
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Re Comment 27
““If he,s not already back, he should be welcomed back to a heros welcome for showing up the island for what it is.”
This isn’t the one who jumped Bail is it?”
You can see why hes ‘jumped bail’ Matt, if the States had their way, he’d be locked up, kicked out of the States and out of their way so they can go on doing what they want without critisism. At least in London he can still work on his case (granted, if he has one, still debatable, though given the recent situations where hes been proved right, im willing to keep an open mind) and continue to fight against the States so these humiliating situations dont occur again.
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21 PJG
Come on then list the ones he got wrong it may take time but he will be proved right over the so called historic abuse investigation, so list all his “wrong” predictions for us prior to the above
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Gary #28 and JPG #21 seem to have the same problem.
Asserting something as a fact without providing a shred of evidence to support it, for no other reason but to make mischief.
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Be fair peeps….I reckon it was that rogue politician Mr Ringbinder who is at fault here !!
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Although Senator Syvret was the most vociferous critic of the random dumping of toxic ash in the reclamation site on Jersey’s coastline, he was not a lone voice. I seem to remember, all those years ago, that Senator Nigel Queree, a well researched and highly respected politician, also expressed his opposition to this reckless act of wanton destruction on our environment. He also warned of the long term detrimental effects that such a practice would have on public health in the long term. Senators Syvret and Queree, and one or two others, made their case in the States chamber over and over. They won the argument hands down but they lost the vote.
Can someone tell me why… I just don’t get it?
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Joker – The JEP can only be sued when it is wrong – google jersey in peril and find out for yourself that there HAS been numerous pollution incidents there.
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‘Sanity
Posted January 28, 2010 at 12:14 pm Wake up Jersey – All those involved in this report have been openly hostile to our incinerator project from day one. This type of political spin has already cost the Island over £30 million on this project alone. ‘
When making allegations it is always good to back them up with evidence – since when is asking questions been classed as hostility?
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