'Fish kill contained', says NEPA

The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) is reporting that the fish kill which occurred at the Rio Cobre River on December 24 is now contained.

The kill was first reported after approximately 50 fish were seen floating on the river on Christmas morning.

Investigations into the matter revealed that the incident was caused by pollution created by a malfunctioning National Water Commission (NWC) sewage treatment plant at Charlemont in St Catherine.

The defective plant caused untreated sewage to be emitted into the Old John’s Gully which flows into the river.

NEPA says that the NWC has since corrected the problem which was caused by a power outage at the plant.

Arising from this incident, the agency also says it will be serving the NWC with an enforcement notice on Wednesday, December 27 to outline specific terms to which the entity must comply.

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