Guidelines for Project Proponent

NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION AUTHORITY

PERMIT AND LICENCE SYSTEM

GUIDELINES FOR PROJECT PROPONENT

CONTENTS

1. Introduction

2. The Permit

2.1 Making Application for Permit
2.2 Processing Application for Permit
2.3 Fees
2.4 Validity
2.5 Breaches and Consequences

3. The Licence

3.1 Making Application for Licence
3.2 Processing Application for Licence
3.3 Fees
3.4 Validity
3.5 Breaches and Consequences

4. Public Register

Annexes

Annex A:	Categories of Enterprise, Construction and Development Requiring Permit
Annex B:	Specimen Completed Permit Application Form
Annex C:	Specimen Completed Project Information Form
Annex D:	Processing of Application for Permit (Flowchart)
Annex E:	Notice to Furnish Documents or Information or EIA
Annex F:	Specimen Completed Application for Licence Form
Annex G:	Processing of Application for Licence (Flowchart)

NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION AUTHORITY

PERMIT AND LICENCE SYSTEM

GUIDELINES FOR PROJECT PROPONENTS

1.	INTRODUCTION
	The Permit and Licence system is framed by provisions of the NRCA Act and legislation which seek to control certain types of development activity and their deleterious effects, direct and indirect, on the environment and human health.

	The legislation referred to includes:

	- the NRCA (Prescribed Areas) (Prohibition of Categories of Enterprise, Construction and Development) Order

	- The NRCA (Permit and Licence) (Forms, Processing and Fees) Regulations.

	The purpose of these Guidelines is to

	- describe the procedures of applying for permit and licence

	- outline the obligations and consequences attendant upon the holding of permit or licence.

	The Permit is required for undertaking within Jamaican territory, any activity within certain prescribed categories which are enumerated in the Schedule to the Order and reproduced at Annex A. It is intended to safeguard the various environmental/natural resources from direct damage due largely but not exclusively to physical development.

	The discharging of any sewage or trade effluent or other polluting matter to air, ground or water, or the construction et al of works therefor, requires the holding of a Licence. It is to safeguard the various environmental media from contamination.

	A licence is not however required where the discharge:

	- results only from a use of water made in pursuance of a licence to abstract and use water granted under any enactment, or

	- is in accordance with good agricultural practice, as determined by the Authority after consultation with the Ministry responsible for agriculture, or

	- is caused or permitted in an emergency in order to avoid a greater danger to the public and, as soon as practicable thereafter, particulars of the discharge are furnished to the Authority, or

	- results from the domestic waste effected by means of absorption or soakaway pits or other prescribed waste disposal system and is an accordance with such provisions as may be
	prescribed by or under the NRCA Act or any other law in force pertaining to such disposal.
	A permit is applicable to new activities and licences to both existing and new facilities. Existing facilities are those which have obtained all planning approvals prior to January 1, 1997. Licences for existing facilities will be phased in.

	Applications to be submitted
Source Category	Not earlier than	Not later than
Sewage effluent Trade effluent Stack emissions Solid waste (landfill) Incinerators/other waste treatment and disposal facilities including hazardous waste Mineral products processing Petroleum refining Fuel combustion	30 April 1997 30 April 1997 30 April 1997 31 May 1997 30 November 1997 31 May 1997 31 May 1997 31 May 1997	30 April 1999 30 April 1999 30 April 1999 31 May 1998 30 April 1999 31 May 1999 31 May 1999 31 May 2000

	Applicants are advised to complete and return the PIF at the conceptual design stage or prefeasibility stage of the project or as soon as possible thereafter.

	Application for planning permission for a development under any other enactment (e.g. Town and Country Planning Act, Local Improvements Act) should be made directly to the relevant agency.

	The permit and/or licence must be granted prior to implementation of the respective, qualifying development or discharge.

2.	THE PERMIT

	2.1 Making Application for Permit


	An application for a permit is comprised of:

	- a completed Permit Application form - in triplicate

	- a completed project information form supplied by the Authority

	- other accompanying documentation as listed on the application form, together with the prescribed application fee.

	Permit Application form and project information forms are shown at Annexes B and C, respectively.

	On completion, the application package is mailed or taken to the NRCA at 53 ½ Molynes Road, Kingston 10, Jamaica, or any NRCA Parish Office.


	2.2 Processing Application for Permit

	The processing of the application for permit by NRCA is outlined in the flowchart at Annex D.

	Incomplete Project Information Forms will result in delays in processing.

	The applicant will be notified within 10 days of receipt of the project information form where an EIA is deemed necessary. The notice (Form 2 - reproduced at Annex E) will be accompanied by 'Guidelines for Conducting EIA' including sample general terms of reference. The notification to the applicant will be copied to related agencies and departments of government. NRCA Act Section 8 obliges agencies/departments to consult the NRCA before deciding any matter whether provisionally or finally, in respect of which the Authority has functions to perform.

	Before commencing the EIA, the applicant is required to submit draft terms of reference for the EIA, to the NRCA for approval.

	Eight (8) copies of the EIA report are to be submitted to the NRCA which will do a preliminary review of the document, checking inter alia whether the report is responsive to the terms of reference, and notify the applicant within 10 working days whether any additional information is needed.

	If the EIA does not include sufficient information on which to make a recommendation to the Authority, it is returned advising the applicant of its omissions. An application would not have been deemed to be submitted to the NRCA.

	On receipt of the additional information or acceptance of the EIA report, as the case may be, the NRCA will commence a detailed appraisal which may involve referral to outside agencies and experts.

	The NRCA will decide whether to require that a public presentation on the draft EIA report be held and to invite further public comment. Guidelines for Public Presentation have been developed to assist proponents in convening these sessions and are available at the NRCA.

	The applicant may then be invited to discuss any outstanding issues with the NRCA prior to a final decision being taken as to the granting of the permit.

	In arriving at its decision, the Authority will consider the comments, if any, from outside agencies, experts, and the public, besides its own analysis. The decision whether to grant a permit, or the terms and conditions to be attached to the grant of a permit, may be guided by application of specific standards in use from time to time.

	Where an application for permit is refused, the Authority will notify the applicant of the reasons for the decision and of his right of appeal to the Minister under Section 35 of the Act. The applicant may also appeal to the Minister where he objects to the terms and conditions attached to the grant of Permit.

	The period between receipt and acceptance of the EIA report by the Authority on whether a permit should be granted could take up to 90 days.

	2.3 Fees

	With effect from 01 January 1997 Permit fees are as follows:

	- upon application $ 1,000.00
	- upon grant $15,000.00

	Fees may be adjusted at any time.


	2.4 Validity

	The validity of the Permit is indefinite.

	2.5 Breaches and Consequences

	A Permit may be suspended or revoked if any of its terms or conditions is breached, or if the holder fails to submit any documents and information as the Authority may require.

	The undertaking of a Prescribed activity without the holding of an appropriate Permit will bring substantial penalties, on conviction in a court of law.


3.	THE LICENCE

	3.1 Making Application for Licence

	An application for a licence is comprised of:

	- a completed Licence application form - in triplicate

	- accompanying documentation as listed on the application form, together with the prescribed application fee.

	The Application form for a Licence is shown at Annex F.

	On completion, the application package is mailed or taken to the NRCA.

	3.2 Processing Application for Licence

	The processing of the application for licence by NRCA is outlined in the flowchart at Annex G.

	Where the licence application is for a new facility, the request for and handling of any additional documents, information or EIA that might be required is subsumed in the processing of the concurrent application for permit. Whether the licence is for a new or existing facility (i.e. existing at the effective date of the Regulations), the procedure with respect to requesting and handling of any additional documents, information or EIA is the same as described in Section 2.2.

	An existing facility may be licenced provisionally for a specified time frame within which the facility will be upgraded to meet current standards. The terms and conditions of such a licence will be agreed on with the NRCA.

	3.3 Fees

	With effect from 01 January 1997 Licence fees are as follows:

	- upon application $1,000.00

	- upon grant $5,000.00

	3.4 Validity

	The validity of the Licence is five (5) years. The licensee must apply for renewal of the licence at least sixty (60) days before expiry.

	3.5 Breaches and Consequences

	A licence may be revoked if, among other things:

	- there is persistent non-compliance with any of its terms or conditions

	- it is discovered that the licensee had deliberately submitted false, misleading or incomplete information during the application process, or had attempted to falsify self-monitoring records.

	In the case of non-submittal of an EIA or other relevant documentation requested within the time specified, the Authority may also suspend or revoke the licence, and the Minister may take such steps as are necessary to ensure its cessation.

	The discharge of any sewage or trade effluent or other polluting matter into air, ground or water, except in specified circumstances, will bring substantial penalties, on conviction in a court of law.


4.	PUBLIC REGISTER

	Information supplied or collected as part of the application or monitoring process shall be placed on a register maintained by the Authority and accessible to the public. The register may include, inter alia, copies of applications, permits, licences, amendments thereto, reported and collected data.

	The Authority will evaluate for exclusion from such public disclosure any information indicated by the applicant to be proprietary or commercially sensitive, or whose disclosure would be contrary to the interests of national security. Applicants shall accordingly identify and as far as possible physically separate any such material at the time of submitting the application, giving precise reasons for desiring exclusion of same from public disclosure.

ANNEX A

Prescribed Description or Category of Enterprise, Construction or Development in a Prescribed Area which will require a Permit in Accordance with Section 9 of the NRCA Act and may require an EIA in accordance with Section 10

Power generation plants

Electrical transmission lines and substations greater than 69kV

Pipelines and conveyors, including underground cables, gas lines and other such infrastructure with diameter of 15 cm and over

Port and harbour developments

Development projects

subdivisions of 10 lots or more

hotels or resort cottages of more than 12 rooms

airports including runaway expansion greater than 20%

housing projects of 10 houses or more

office complexes greater than 5,000 square metres

Ecotourism projects

Water treatment facilities including water supply, desalination plants, sewage and industrial waste water

Mining and mineral processing

peat

sand

minerals - including aggregate, construction and industrial minerals

metallic

non-metallic

Metal processing

non-ferrous metals

ferrous metals

foundry operations

metal plating

10.

Industrial projects

chemical plants

pulp, paper and wood processing

petroleum production, refinery, storage and stockpiling

fish and meat processing plants

food processing plants

detergents manufacturing, including manufacturing of soap

manufacture of containers and packaging materials including cans, bottles,

boxes and cartons

distillery, brewing and fermenting facilities

manufacturing of edible fats, oils and associated processes

cement and lime production plants

paint manufacture

tanneries

manufacturing of pesticides or other hazardous or toxic substances

boxing plants

citrus, coffee, cocoa, coconut, sugarcane processing factories

manufacture of textiles

solar salt production

11.

Construction of new highways and arterial roads and major road improvement projects

12.

River basin development projects

13.

Irrigation or water management projects including improvements

14.

Land reclamation and drainage projects

15.

Watershed development and soil conservation projects including river training, check dams, and retaining walls

16.

Modification, clearance or reclamation of wetlands

17.

Solid waste treatment and disposal facilities

18.

Hazardous waste storage or treatment or disposal facilities*

19.

Processing of agricultural waste

20.

Cemeteries and crematoriums

21.

Introduction of species of flora, fauna and genetic material

22.

Slaughterhouse and abattoir

23.

Felling of trees and clearing of land of 10 hectares or over for agricultural development

24.

Clear cutting of forested areas of 3 hectares and over on slopes greater than 25⁰.