No new quarry in Maracas Valley

THE EDITOR: Maracas/St Joseph is a very beautiful and special place. It boasts, among other things, lush vegetation, cool climate, scenic rivers, Trinidad’s tallest waterfall and the Caurita Petroglyphs which serves as an important spiritual place for the First Peoples community and an official TT historic site.

The valley is nestled at the foot of Trinidad's second highest mountain peak, El Tucuche, and is part of the biodiverse Northern Range. The valley is strategically located between the capital city Port of Spain and Piarco International Airport and is close to many modern conveniences.

I write to draw attention to an issue that is deeply troubling to the residents of Acono Village, Maracas Valley, St Joseph, where a company has applied for a Certificate of Environmental Clearance (CEC) to start operating a new quarry, just across the ridge from an existing quarry.

Many residents already know the obvious reasons why the introduction of another quarry operator in Maracas Valley will be detrimental to our community. The obliteration of rainforest, the pollution of water sources and the destruction of habitat for fish, birds and wildlife has already caused irreversible damage to the environment.

The massive loss of precious water over many years threatens our water security. Residents’ homes are violently shaken and structurally damaged by the relentless quarry blasting. Our communities are contaminated by airborne particles, our rivers have become polluted from toxic emissions into our water courses and nearby springs have dried up. There is persistent wear and tear on our roads caused by the heavy dump trucks, from Acono Village, along the Maracas Royal Road and through Riverside Road, Curepe. Quarry machinery and equipment create more pollution, congestion, noise and dust and there is an increased risk of accidents on all the aforementioned roads in the area.

I am raising all this to say that the Maracas Valley site is a terrible location for additional activity as destructive and disruptive as blasting limestone, crushing it into aggregate and trucking it away. I hope it is as clear to all as it is to me that what this company is proposing – to start quarrying aggregate so close to an existing quarry – is untenable and unacceptable.

The precautions and undertakings that this company is offering may have been appropriate if there wasn’t already an existing quarry in the area. At present our experience tells us that the existing quarry poses significant risks to the safety and security of our community at large. As such, residents of Acono Village and by extension Maracas/St Joseph cannot accept the risks that this additional quarry will pose.

Going forward, it is also important that we keep the existing quarry operator accountable so as to ensure that we prevent further abuse of our rainforest, water sources, built and natural environment. Now is not the time to negotiate with another quarry operator. Now is the time to enhance and encourage biodiversity and to promote sustainable development in Maracas Valley.

The Northern Range is one of the most important life-support systems in Trinidad. It plays a critical role in preventing run-offs and absorbing greenhouse gas emissions. It is home to incredible amounts of plants and wildlife (including the golden tree frog), and it produces nourishing rainfall all around the island.

The addition of another quarry in Maracas Valley will undoubtedly have a negative impact on the entire Maracas Valley, St Joseph, area. The ripple effects of this negative impact will be felt all over our country. That is why I say no new quarry in Maracas Valley.

COREY M SELVON

councillor

Maracas/Santa Margarita