Two environmental breach cases involving bauxite producer UC Rusal will proceed as separate trials, following a recent ruling by the St. Catherine Parish Court.
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On Tuesday, Acting Senior Parish Judge Janelle Nelson-Gayle informed both parties that the court could not grant the application for joinder, which sought to combine the two cases. The matters involve alleged violations of Section 11 of the Wild Life Protection Act.
The charges stem from incidents on August 1, 2021, and July 26, 2022, when trade effluent from UC Rusal reportedly contaminated a nearby waterway.
Initially, the 2021 matter was scheduled to begin on July 7. Still, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) submitted additional information and, on July 15, applied to merge the 2022 case with the earlier one. However, UC Rusal’s legal team opposed the application.
As a result, the court has now set separate trial dates for each case. The 2022 incident will be heard on September 11, 2025, while the trial for the 2021 breach is scheduled to take place on November 10, 2025.
UC Rusal is being represented by attorneys-at-law Jacqueline Samuels-Brown, Stephanie Ewbank, and Ronaldo Richards. Attorney-at-law Rasheed Lee, from the Office of the DPP, is representing the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), which brought the charges against the company.
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