The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THE Department of Environmental Planning and Protection has asked Bahama Rock to revise its environmental documents as the company approaches a production shutdown that will temporarily put 69 hourly employees out of work and could become permanent if its proposed Grand Bahama expansion is not approved.

Dr Rhianna Neely-Murphy, director of DEPP, said the revisions are the next step in the statutory environmental review of the Bahama Rock Limited Harbour Expansion and Aggregate Mining Project.

“The company, through its environmental consultants, was advised that revisions were required to update the environmental documents,” Dr Neely-Murphy said. “That is the next step.”

The request comes at a critical point for Bahama Rock’s workforce.

The company has said it will cease aggregate production on September 18 as its currently permitted limestone reserves near exhaustion, with 69 hourly workers due to be temporarily laid off for up to 60 days beginning September 21.

Bahama Rock employs roughly 80 people in Grand Bahama and has warned that the shutdown could become permanent if it does not receive approval to access a new aggregate source at the former Bahamas Cement Company property.

Employees walked off the job at the company’s Freeport plant last week, urging the government to approve the expansion and warning that their livelihoods depend on the operation continuing.

The proposed project involves expanding the existing harbour and extracting aggregate from the former Bahamas Cement Company property in Freeport. Bahama Rock, owned by Martin Marietta, has agreed to acquire the property and proposes to mine about 269 acres as part of the expansion.

BRON Ltd, Bahama Rock’s environmental consultants, prepared the environmental impact assessment for the project.

The proposal has drawn opposition from some nearby residents, who have raised concerns about blasting, dust and noise.

At a DEPP town meeting in July, Eight Mile Rock residents said previous blasting operations had caused cracks and other damage to their homes.

Workers have urged the government to balance those concerns against the jobs and wider economic activity tied to Bahama Rock.

The company has estimated its annual contribution to Grand Bahama’s economy at about $25m and has warned that a permanent closure could also affect the availability and cost of aggregate used by the construction industry.

Opponents of the expansion, however, have disputed suggestions that Bahama Rock’s shutdown would necessarily create a national aggregate shortage and have argued that the environmental review should not be dictated by the impending lay-offs.

Latrae Rahming, director of communications in the Office of the Prime Minister, said the government was considering the consequences for workers.

“The Government is reviewing the situation concerning Bahama Rock and the potential impact on its employees,” Mr Rahming said. “We will provide an update once more information is available.”

Efforts to reach Bahama Rock general manager TJ Mackey were unsuccessful up to press time.