Property owners who have been notified about bushy lots could soon incur fines for non-compliance by the end of this month under an overgrown vegetation enforcement programme, the Ministry of Environment said on Monday.
Minister of Envrionment, Adrian Forde
Dewyn Phillips
Under the initiative, being enforced through the Health Services Act and launched on November 1, a 21-day notice will be given to people who are not in compliance, said project leader Ronald Chapman.
Ronald Chapman
He said: “The nuisances legislation has changed, and that amendment now allows for the environmental health officers who will go out, and they will do their normal inspections.
“When they have done their inspections, if they find lots which have overgrown vegetation on them, they will serve a notice. That notice is usually about 21 days, and after that, 21 days, persons will be charged for not removing the vegetation. That charge is an administrative charge. It’s $300.”
At the launch of the National Parish Home Garden Competition at the ministry’s headquarters in Warrens, Chapman explained what happens once a property owner receives a notice:
“If, after that period of time, the lot still continues not to be cleaned…the Ministry of Environment will go ahead and clean the lot. So you will expect to see the lot clean. What I must stress also is with that cleaning, there will be a charge attached to that. There’s a cleaning fee. So there are two bits of money that you’re going to pay, you’re going to pay for not cleaning your lot, and you’re going to pay for getting your lot cleaned.”
The project lead outlined the reason for the delayed enforcement:
“It takes a little time for the machinery to start grinding, but the notices have been served and I think by the end of this month, we should be in a place now to start serving administrative penalty notices, which means persons will be seeing a $300 charge for cleaning the lots. And if, after they receive that $300 charge, they do not proceed to clean their lots, the Ministry of Environment will step in to clean the lot, and they will get a bill now—not a charge—a bill for the cleaning of their lot conducted by the Ministry of Environment.”
Rohan Payne
Thora Lorde
Chapman explained that the $300 fee for cleaning a lot is based on the estimated work required:
“The cost will have to do with the size of the lot…what else is on the lot, what conditions the lot. So if you have a lot that’s only grass, that would be significantly less than if you have a lot with grass, and let’s say refuse accumulation of old stuff on the lot, because now the amount of truckloads that have to be taken away and the machinery type that moves that truck load would be different. So there will be varying prices. Exactly. There may be a flat lot, a sloped lot, one that’s going down into a gully. All those things will come into factor in determining the price. So if you know you have a lot, clean it before someone else has to clean it for you.”
He reminded residents who might face issues clearing their lots or paying the fees to contact the relief board at the Ministry of Housing and Lands:
“In any programme, there will always be persons who are unable to meet the standard, but those persons would have to speak to the environmental officers before the administrative penalty is served. It is better to do it that way. If perchance the administrative penalty is served and they find that they’re having that issue, then the legislation speaks to their ability to appeal to the relief board, and the relief board then will consider their circumstances as well as the law and whatever and work within those parameters to see how they can assist.”
(LG)
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