The Tribune

By RIEL MAJOR

Tribune Staff Reporter

rmajor@tribunemedia.net

NEARLY two months after Hurricane Dorian ravaged the northwestern Bahamas, the clean-up of debris in Abaco has begun, according to Environment Minister Romauld Ferreira.

Mr Ferreira told The Tribune yesterday that the removal of debris is being spearheaded by the Ministry of Works.

“Once that debris is removed, collected and removed. It’s being sorted on site. In other words, the place where the debris is being cleared from, it’s being sorted there and it’s going to lay down sites,” he said.

“When it comes down to the lay down site, that’s when the Ministry of Environment and Housing takes over, sort of with the final solution for it which will be a combination of mulching, some will go into the landfill, some will be exported and some will hopefully be recycled and be reused.”

Earlier this week, Iram Lewis, the new Minister of State for Disaster Preparedness, said all major and arterial roads on the island of Abaco have been cleared.

Speaking to reporters at a National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) press conference, Mr Lewis said the Ministry of Public Works’ hurricane emergency plan was activated and the clearing of the roads on Abaco officially started on September 2.

He said: “The debris collected shall be sorted in the following categories and taken to the lay down site. White waste (such as) freezers, stoves, washing machines; electronic waste (such as) televisions, computers and printers; household waste (such as) couches, mattresses, and dressers; construction waste (such as) concrete plumbing fixtures, wiring and fibre glass. Wood - organic waste and lumber.”

In September, it was reported that 1.5bn pounds of debris were strewn across Marsh Harbour following Dorian.

.• MONITORING wells will be installed to determine whether or not the ground water was impacted as a result of the oil spill at the Equinor South Riding Point facility in East Grand Bahama, Environment Minister Romauld Ferreira said yesterday.

Speaking to The Tribune, Mr Ferreira said to date there are 300 people on the site assisting with recovery operations.

“The (wells) will be monitored by members of staff from the Ministry of Environment, particularly the Department of Environmental House Services and the best commission officers.”

“Of course, they’re moving into the phase as well where in addition to recovering product that maybe in pools or contaminated soil. They are looking at resuscitation of the pine forest itself and, of course, that would involve removing trees that had been impacted to the point that they will die or are dead and pruning those that can recover.”

The minister said more animals have been affected by the oil spill. Mr Ferreira said: “A total of nine animals were impacted so we are up from the four that I initially mentioned. Some (animals) have been released back into the environment.”

Last week, the international energy company released a statement that stated additional surveys were conducted by Equinor and two external companies. The surveys revealed the updated estimated volume of the oil spill at the South Riding Point terminal after the impact of Hurricane Dorian was 55,000 barrels (2.3 million gallons) – less than half the initial volume estimate of 119,000 barrels (five million barrels), Equinor said.

“The updated estimate is made by Equinor and surveyor companies AmSpec and Oil Inspections following a transfer of oil from the damaged tanks to secure tanks at the terminal last week,” Equinor added.