The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

AN appeal is being made to the government to be vigilant concerning the oil spill clean-up at the Equinor South Riding Point plant in East Grand Bahama.

Joseph Darville, chairman of Save the Bays, said that there is still “enormous amounts of residual oil on the site”.

He complained that environmentalists are not being permitted to check the affected areas anymore and to advise the government about what is happening there.

“That (clean-up) seems to have gone into a very secretive and clandestine operation,” Mr Darville claimed.

“So, I am appealing to the government, the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, and representatives from Grand Bahama to have a vigilant look at that situation.”

Mr Darville stressed that the government must be vigilant to make sure the site is cleaned up before it is divested to another party.

“I hear there is one almost imminently ready to purchase it,” he said.

“While they are negotiating the sale of that property there is an enormous amount of residual oil sitting on that plant, in addition to what residual oil is in the forest.”

The environmentalist said that Equinor had reported that after examining some rocks, it was determined to be black mould.

Mr Darville admits that while it is true there is black mould in the forest, residual oil is still penetrating the enormous mounds of aggregate on the northside.

“If you insert a stick in it, the stick comes out saturated with oil,” he said.

He also noted that pigs are no longer eating the fern root nodules in the area.

“We found recently that they were leaving them on the ground, and we wondered why. When we opened it up, it is saturated with oil.”

Mr Darville stressed that the oil continues to seep into the ground and will also seep into the wetlands and the water table eventually.

“The water table is less than four feet under the ground,” he warned.

And so, what really bothers me is that I have passed it onto the highest level of government.

“There is a lot to be done with respect to that (clean-up), and I cry shame on previous and present governments if they are not going to be diligent enough to make sure that place is cleaned before it is sold to another entity.”

The Save the Bays chairman noted that the land belongs to the Bahamian people.

“It should be kept clean and pristine because it is the Bahamian heritage.

“We are talking about the green economy and blue economy, and all the rest, and we are not looking at these situations minutely. And they are excluding environmentalists from getting permission to go on the site to actually advise the government as to what is happening.

“And so, no, that place is not yet cleaned. And no one can come and contradict environmentalists who have been watching it from day one up until now,” he stated.

He said since environmentalists are not allowed to get on the site, government officials should be permitted to visit and look at what is there.

The oil spill occurred at Equinor’s South Riding Point storage facility in Grand Bahama when Hurricane Dorian pummeled the northern Bahamas in September 2019.

The estimated volume of the oil spill is 55,000 barrels (2.3 million gallons).

After the incident, Equinor said it was committed to cleaning up the area and that it would establish a long-term monitoring plan of ground water and for the affected forest areas to be submitted to local authorities.