The Environmental Management Act (EM Act) No. 3 of 2000 established an Environmental Commission. The Commission is a superior court of record charged with the resolution of certain environmental disputes brought before it. The Commission comprises a full-time Chairman, a full-time Deputy Chairman and four part-time members. The Chairman and Deputy Chairman are required to be Attorneys-at-Law of not less than 10 years standing. The part-time members are to be appointed by the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago from among such persons who are qualified in the areas of environmental issues, engineering, natural sciences or social sciences.
The Commission has jurisdiction to hear matters under the EM Act or any written law where jurisdiction in the Commission is specifically provided for, including but not limited to:
- Appeals from decisions or actions of the Environmental Management Authority (EMA);
- Applications for deferment of decisions by the EMA to undertake certain emergency response activities;
- Applications for deferment and appeals of designations by the EMA of “environmentally sensitive species” or “environmentally sensitive areas”; and
- Appeals from a decision by the EMA to refuse to issue a certificate of environmental clearance or grant such a certificate with conditions.
Any individual or group of individuals expressing a general interest in the environment or a specific concern with respect to alleged violations of specified environmental requirements, as identified in Section 62 of the EM Act, can bring direct private party action to the Commission.
Once a complaint is filed and the EMA is duly notified of it, the EMA may decide to take such action on the complaint as it deems necessary. In the event that the complainant is dissatisfied with the EMA’s response, the matter is then brought before the Commission. On hearing of a complaint, the Commission is empowered to issue any Administrative Order, which the EMA could have appropriately made, or refer the matter back to the EMA for reconsideration.
For more information on the Commission, contact Mr. Alvin Pascal at alvinpascal@hotmail.com