The Tribune

THE scale of the oil leak in Grand Bahama just keeps getting worse.

First, there was a very swift comment from the National Emergency Management Agency that there was no public health concern from the oil spill – at a time when there was very little clarity on how much oil had spilled.

Then there was Environment Minister Romauld Ferreria’s much mocked pronouncement that only a goat and three birds had been victims of the spill.

Then finally we hear that first a million gallons – and now at least five million gallons spilled in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian.

To date, more than 35,000 barrels of oil have been recovered – well, where was all of that when people were busily declaring everything to be safe?

The total spilled – according to Mr Ferreira – was 119,000 barrels, which means an awful lot has gone unrecovered.

Thank goodness for environment activists, who have been busily assessing the environment in a manner that the minister’s own department ought to have been doing.

They are reporting contaminated water in wetland habitats as far as a mile away from the spill, with petroleum components showing up in samples.

Workers have been described as being “knee-deep” in oil as they proceed with the clean-up. This seems a long way from the hasty reassurance provided initially by NEMA and Mr Ferreira.

We’d like to know who did those initial assessments – was it ministry representatives or was Mr Ferreira just taking the company’s word for it?

We would also suggest that Mr Ferreira remember a major environmental issue that proved a problem for the PLP before being tossed from office – a problem that was bigger still for the residents in the Marathon area.

The fuel spill from the Rubis gas station was one thing, the seeming determination of the government to ignore the complaints of local residents was another. People had genuine concerns as to whether the water they were drinking, bathing in and washing with was safe –and they didn’t feel the government was being straight with them when it came to answers.

We would urge Mr Ferreira to heed that lesson – and be more thorough in investigating the effects of this spill, and clear about its effects, on people and wildlife.

This is not something to be casual about – voters will remember if they haven’t been told what they need to know.

Well done, Baha Mar

The next phase of Baha Mar’s development is to be much welcomed. Up to 500 jobs and a new addition to the New Providence entertainment market.

There will be a water park that will be open to the public to rival the Aquaventure park over at Atlantis, and a lot more besides.

It comes at a welcome time in the wake of Hurricane Dorian, and it’s a sign of the success and confidence in the future of Baha Mar itself that such an expansion is being pushed.

In yesterday’s Tribune, we reported that tourism was likely to be down nearly ten percent this year because of Hurricane Dorian. With projects such as Baha Mar Bay, we are hopeful that amount will soon be recovered and more besides.

Long may such success continue.