Beach Licensees Reminded Of March 31 Renewal Deadline

Holders of beach licences are being reminded to submit their applications for renewal before the March 31, 2022, deadline.

For the processing of applications for renewal, the licensee is required to submit the completed application form (Parts A through C), pay the required application fee and provide an updated project brief, which will be used to determine whether any operational changes were made since the permit was originally granted.

Official copies of company documents, including a Certificate of Incorporation and a list of directors, should also be submitted.

A valid government identification is required for the person submitting the application.

Manager for the Applications Secretariat Branch within the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), Miguel Nelson, told JIS News that even though the March 31 deadline is primarily for the renewal of beach licences, persons with environmental permits issued in 2017 are also being encouraged to submit their applications for renewal if the entity is desirous of continuing operations.

He noted that “whether an entity has an environmental permit/licence or a beach licence, the entity or the individual is required to have a current, valid licence or permit for the continued operation of its business”.

Speaking to the Natural Resources Conservation (Permits and Licences) (Amendment) Regulations, 2015, which stipulates that any permit granted before April 1, 2015 expired on April 1, 2020, Mr. Nelson said that “it would be a breach of the regulations or criminal offence for persons to continue operation without these renewed instruments”.

Mr. Nelson told JIS News that there are 12 categories of environmental permits across seven sectors that are due for renewal this year.

These include petroleum/hydrocarbon storage, hazardous material storage, scrap metal, the operation of a hotel, ecotourism, nature tourism, mining, hazardous waste, solid waste treatment, batching plants and food/agro-processing.

For additional information or guidance on submitting applications, persons can contact NEPA’s Applications Secretariat Branch at applications@nepa.gov.jm or call 876-754-7540 ext. 2102 to speak to a customer service representative.