The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

KEITH Bell, State Minister for National Security, yesterday denied that dredging has started at the Royal Bahamas Defence Force base in Coral Harbour.

Concerns that dredging had started to deepen the harbour so it could accommodate larger vessels were reported to The Tribune by Sonya Alvino, the president of the Coral Harbour Property Owners Association.

Ms Alvino, an environmental activist, also provided a photograph of what appears to be a Van Oord dredger that recently arrived.

She questioned whether the government is contravening the Planning and Subdivision Act by seeking to dredge the harbour without, she claimed, properly consulting the public or disclosing an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environment Management Plan (EMP).

“We are extremely concerned about the effects of the one mile-long channel that will be constructed and want to know how this might affect our beach,” she said. “We have committed to conducting an independent survey of our beach and have been in touch with internationally acclaimed experts to ask their advice and if we need to we will conduct our own engineering studies.”

Environmental lawyer Romauld Ferreira, who was contacted for comment, said that an EIA should have been performed, noting that a proposal to conduct an EIA and EMP was sent to his firm in March 2013 in a letter signed by National Security Permanent Secretary Carl Smith.

Mr Ferreira added: “Expanding the ambit of the defence force is a noble venture, but development of such nature ought to have an EIA. There’s nothing wrong ostensibly with increasing the force’s capacity, but it’s the way it is done. The government should lead the way with environmental responsibility.”

He added that the issue highlights why a land use plan for New Providence, an Environmental Protection Act and a national development plan needs to be established.

In a meeting last month, officials said the dredging could begin in the absence of an EIA because the base is a developed area, Ms Alvino said.

When asked about an EIA last month, Mr Bell said the government would not disturb the environment without doing some form of impact assessment.

“The law calls for an (EIA),” he said. “It’s in the law. What we are doing is in the national interest of the country. We are seeking to establish a base. We are seeking to strike a balance between ensuring that we protect the environment to protect our people (and) protect our assets.”