There are several “key steps” required before the government can grant permission for sand mining at Fort Ghaut in Plymouth, according to the environment minister.
John Osborne told a meeting of the Montserrat Legislative Assembly on 21 January that all of the environmental and regulatory standards must be met before any approval is given.
He was responding to opposition leader Paul Lewis who asked for an update on the status of an environmental impact assessment on the area that sand miners had paid for and submitted.
Sand miners are typically required to submit these assessments to ensure any proposed operations minimise harm to ecosystems, water resources, and surrounding communities.
Osborne said: “The sand miners completed and shared informally the environmental impact assessment for the Fort Ghaut area with the Department of Environment and the Physical Planning Unit.
“The document was reviewed and comments sent back to the miners. However, no formal submission has been made to the planning and development authority.”
Safe boundaries
Eruptions of Montserrat’s Soufrière Hills volcano in the 1990s rendered Fort Ghaut valley uninhabitable and inaccessible to the public and it now sits in the Zone V exclusion zone.
The environment minister said one of the key steps required before giving approval to mine sand in the area is to identify the boundaries within which work can take place.
The Lands and Survey Department are finalising the programme to get this survey completed, Osborne said.
He added that the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Housing and Environment is collaborating with the Montserrat Volcano Observatory to ensure that all safety protocols are in place.
These include identifying escape routes, having the right equipment when operating in the zone, and putting plans in place to mitigate risk to the survey team and sand miners.
Osborne said that approval of the National Disaster Preparedness and Advisory Committee is required for the survey to take place.
Years of talks
Discussions over sand mining in Fort Ghaut have been ongoing for several years.
A proposed modification to the Development Plan 2012-2022 to allow sand mining in Fort Ghaut was published in June 2020, which can be accessed here.
A three-month public consultation followed from July to September, 2020, the results of which can be viewed here.
In March 2022, the government then granted approval for sand mining in the Upper Belham Valley in the Zone V exclusion zone.
At the time former agriculture minister Crenston Buffonge said: “The ministry will now turn its attention to putting the necessary protocols and procedures in place for sand mining operations in Fort Ghaut.”
Sand mining in volcanic eruption areas, such as Montserrat, often targets deposits left by volcanic activity.
The eruptions deposit fine ash and lava fragments, which over time can form sand and other materials that are valuable for construction.
Guidance on how to plan and prepare for volcanic activity is available on the Montserrat Volcano Observatory website here.
