FRESH calls have been issued for the Island to have an independent environmental regulator.
Environmental campaigners Save Our Shoreline Jersey argue that a regulator should be established to oversee the implementation of the new Marine Spatial Plan, which was recently published by the government in revised form.
The new draft included reducing the size of areas protected under the plan from 27% to 23% of Jersey’s territorial waters following consultation, a move which Environment Minister Steve Luce said struck “a balance” but has drawn criticism from environmental groups.
In a submission to the Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel, which is currently reviewing the plan, SOS Jersey said an independent regulator would ensure that “every Islander can have faith that our surrounding waters will be properly protected, with independent oversight”.
“The future health of Jersey’s marine environment must not be endangered by the fears of exposing past failures,” the group said.
SOS Jersey argued that there had been failures since the signing of the Ramsar Treaty in 2000, a treaty which provides a framework for the conservation of wetlands and their resources.
The group also highlighted the huge mounds of inert waste which were dumped by the government at La Collette for two decades without planning permission. A retrospective planning application was finally approved last year for the mounds, described as a “mountain” of waste, that also sanctioned the construction of a so-called “eastern headland” south of the incinerator.
An independent regulator would monitor compliance with environmental legislation and international standards, according to SOS Jersey, performing duties currently assigned to the Environment Minister.
The environmental group has previously argued that regulation could be stronger if the government itself was not responsible for these functions.
Similar regulatory bodies have been set up in the Island already, in the form of the children’s commissioner and data commissioner.
SOS Jersey said it had received widespread support for the idea, including from the National Trust for Jersey, the Société Jersiaise and the Marine Conservation Society. However, they claim these calls have so far been ignored by the government.
The group claimed that environmental regulators were currently “a law unto themselves” and argued that only an independent body could provide proper oversight.
In another submission to the Scrutiny panel, former Airport executive Jeremy Snowdon argued that the Marine Spatial Plan was well structured but unlikely to be effective, pointing to past incidents such as pollution spills at La Collette and inadequate storage of asbestos-filled containers, also at La Collette.
“Jersey has history, particularly where the environment is concerned, of making plans and then failing to ensure they are enacted,” he said.
He warned that the plan could “do more harm than good” by perpetuating the perception that Jersey signs international agreements without proper implementation.
The government has been approached for comment.
