The Tribune

Genuine environmental concerns over the Abaco Club’s marina project should be satisfied by the 44-slip facility’s bid for Blue Flag status, a Cabinet Minister said yesterday.

Khaalis Rolle, minister of state for investments, confirmed that the Little Harbour-based development, which is currently facing a Judicial Review challenge from environmental activists, is seeking a designation confirming it adheres to the highest quality and eco-friendly standards.

Referring to a town meeting held on the project last Monday, Mr Rolle said: “I was pleased to see directly how the Abaco Club have gone to great lengths to submit proposals that are environmentally friendly.

“They are proposing a Blue Flag marina, of which there are very few in the Bahamas. Atlantis is one, Albany is another. If you count the number of such marinas, there are just three-four.

“It says a lot that Winding Bay, the Abaco Club, is proposing to make that area - a currently unrecognised area - into a Blue Flag marina,” the Minister added.

“If there is genuine concern about the environment, I would have thought people would welcome the concept, the management technique that they will be introducing to that area [Little Harbour].”

A copy of the meeting notes from last Monday’s meeting, taken by representatives from Responsible Development for Abaco (RDA), confirms that the developers are seeking Blue Flag status for the marina.

The notes suggest that the idea to go for Blue Flag status came from the Government’s Bahamas Environment, Science and Technology (BEST) Commission, rather than the Abaco Club or its owners.

The suggestion was contained in a June 2015 letter sent to the developers by the Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA), which passed on BEST’s conditions - including the Blue Flag idea - for approving the project’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

Tim Sullivan, director of construction for Southworth Development, the Abaco Club’s principal owner, said the Little Harbour facility was expected to be the fourth marina in the Bahamas to attain Blue Flag status.

“BEST suggested that the developer look further into it,” the RDA notes said in summarising Mr Sullivan’s Blue Flag comments.

“Blue Flag Programme (BFP) is a recognition of excellence in matters of environmental awareness and responsibility in operating a facility. It is an eco-label that is trusted and recognised by the worldwide boating community.”

Mr Sullivan said existing Bahamas-based Blue Flag marinas are those at Atlantis, Bimini Sands and Cape Eleuthera, and said the designation consists of five components.

“There is the educational component. The developer has staff who will educate its boaters and other members of the public who may need it for the proper appreciation of the environment in the harbour,” the notes by RDA representatives state.

“Information will be available on how the developer is performing. The accreditation programme has to be renewed annually. The developer would have to meet 25 performance criteria every year.”

There was said to have been initial contact between the Abaco Cub and the Bahamas Reef Environmental Educational Foundation (BREEF), which is the local contact and liaison for the Blue Flag programme.

The developers also argued at the Town Meeting that Little Harbour was “not the environmental sanctuary” it was being made out to be, as human waste contamination had made swimming a health hazard.

Tom Southworth, Southworth Development’s vice-president of development, said a February 2016 study by the Water & Sewerage Corporation had revealed “alarming” results.

“The developer has had its own concerns about waste contamination in Little Harbour for some time, based on eye witness accounts and watching boat discharges in broad day light and reports by residents of swimming in - and seeing - human waste,” the meeting notes said.

“The commentary from the last meeting (September 2015) led the developer to investigate further. The Water and Sewerage Corporation (WSC) conducted an independent study in February 2016 and the results, as feared, were alarming.

“E-coli and fecal contamination were found to be beyond safe levels, and indicative of human waste contamination and sewerage pollution. Unfortunately, Little Harbour is not the sanctuary that many have made it out to be. Irresponsible waste management practices have rendered the harbour unswimmable.”

The notes said this had changed the Abaco Club’s views on how waste from its proposed marina facility was to be collected and disposed.

“After consultation with the experts, the developer believes the most environmentally conscious approach is to store waste in a below-ground holding tank and bring it to the developer’s WSC-approved facility in Winding Bay for disposal,” the meeting notes said.

Mr Rolle told Tribune Business that it was “a known fact” that Little Harbour has a pollution problem requiring remediation.

“The developer is proposing to put in a pump-out system that currently doesn’t exist, and which has contributed to the pollution in some parts of Little Harbour,” he added.

“They’re proposing to organise Little Harbour a little better than it is now, and many people in the area have been thankful for the re-opening of Winding Bay.”