THE NATIONAL Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) has rejected the initial report presented by the company blamed for last Saturday's sulphuric acid spill in the Kingston Harbour.

NEPA had given Industrial Chemicals Company (ICC) three days to submit a report on the circumstances surrounding the spill, which resulted in a major fish kill and affected other marine life in the Harbour.

That report was submitted by the Tuesday deadline, but it failed to satisfy NEPA.

"It is a fact that a report was submitted, but it was totally unacceptable because it did not conform to the requirements of the agency," Peter Knight, acting chief executive officer of NEPA, told The Gleaner yesterday.

"We instructed the company to do a proper report and submit that to the agency," Knight added.

No public comment

Late yesterday, ICC said it was preparing the final report, which it intended to submit to NEPA before the end of the day.

According to ICC, it was not yet ready to offer any public comment on the spill.

But even as the company finalised its report, NEPA vowed to take tough action over the acid spill.

According to the acting CEO of the agency, NEPA will be prosecuting ICC under the National Resources Conservation Act and the Wildlife Protection Act.

NEPA had served a Breach Notice on the management of ICC in the immediate aftermath of the spill at the company's storage facility located off Marcus Garvey Drive, in the vicinity of the Greenwich Town Fishing Village in Kingston.

While the company failed to complete a clean-up under the terms of the notice, it had completed most of the task and NEPA was prepared to allow it more time.

NEPA has also given the green light for the resumption of normal operations at the harbour.

arthur.hall@gleanerjm.com