Should MEPA be apportioned major part of blame for X-Press Pearl marine environmental disaster?

MARINE Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) and its former Chairperson were found guilty by the Supreme Court (SC) unanimously in a far-reaching judgment contained in a 361 volume for failures to respond to the X-Press Pearl disaster and for noncompliance with their statutory duties and obligations under the MEPA Act.

- By J.A.A.S. Ranasinghe

The SC also found that the failure of the Chairperson to convene a meeting of the Board of Directors constitutes a glaring dereliction of duty at a time when the world’s worst marine environment disaster affected our marine biodiversity to the highest magnitude in terms of the chemicals and polymers discharged to the marine environment.

The SC termed this transgression on the part of the Chairperson “a clear departure from the collective decision-making process stating that the statute required her to play a collective role in the discharge of the duties.” Prof. Ajith de Alwis who served in the Environmental Damage Assessment Team (EDAT) appointed by MEPA states that the errors leading to the disastrous outcome could have been easily addressed and this calamitous situation averted if not for the significant indifference and failures of the authorities to understand the potential consequences of this disaster.

Sequence of unpardonable blunders

The SC judgment has had ripple effects on all the stakeholders in that it has said that the citizens of the country have an inalienable constitutional right to possess a clean environment and underscored that environmental degradation is not only a policy issue but also a basic fundamental right. On this basis, the Chairperson was deemed to have failed to perform her statutory obligations and duties thereby committing criminal responsibility under the MEPA Act, the SC said.

Those who meticulously follow the sequence of legal proceedings that led to this landmark judgment of awarding of $ 1 billion compensation on the ship owner would observe that the alarming events and gaps that have surfaced have been more damaging than the disaster itself.