The Coalition to Keep BT Dump Free claims that the agreement between Government and Dart to move the George Town (GT) dump to Bodden Town (BT) has been cloaked in secrecy, and invites serious suspicion of abuse of office, conflicts of interest and disregard of the law. Coalition leaders are hoping “that the current police investigations into theft and corruption will also look into the dump deal and help put an end to it.”

According to Coalition leader and former Minister of Environment Mr. Charles Clifford, “The so-called ‘ForCayman Investment Alliance’ (FCIA) agreement raises serious questions of possible wrongdoing. It must be suspended immediately, investigated and exposed in order for Cayman to prove to the world that it’s indeed committed to transparency, due process, good governance and the rule of law.”

“It’s laudable that Premier Bush is investigated, but corruption may extend elsewhere,” states Coalition chairman Mr. Alain Beiner. “The world is watching us and Cayman also has to prove that it’s committed to open public procurement according to best international practice, as per the recently adopted Framework for Fiscal Responsibility (FFR). But the Dart dump deal makes a mockery of it.”

Referring to Minister Simmonds of the UK’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) and his insistence on “following proper procurement processes which have been clearly set out to you by the Chair of the Central Tenders Committee (CTC)…” Mr. Beiner recalls that in December 2010, “this very same Dart dump proposal was rejected by the CTC, and rated worst of all tenders considered to solve the GT dump problem. The CTC technical team expressed ‘grave concern’ about the impact of a dump ‘in an area that is environmentally sensitive.’ Instead of following the CTC’s recommendation of a waste-to-energy facility at the GT site, Government completely ignored the CTC’s deliberations and recommendation. In fact, it did the exact opposite.”

“Since adoption of the FFR, the dump deal is clearly illegal,” continues Mr. Beiner. “Aside from the need for all major public projects to be fairly bid upon, valuable Crown land is being ‘swapped’ as part of the FCIA deal, with no open tendering process to determine its value. These are substantial assets which belong to the people, and they’re being left to Premier Bush to give away!”

In regards to suspicion of abuse of office and breach of trust, Mr. Clifford refers to the “muzzling” by Government of the Environmental Advisory Board (EAB). “The EAB, chaired by the director of the Department of Environment, recommended that it be mandated to identify the best waste management solution for Grand Cayman, and that an open and independent site selection process be conducted if indeed the GT dump had to be moved. But as soon as it had set up the EAB to ‘advise’, Government ignored its advice, and instead ‘instructed the EAB to limit the review to the proposals as presented by DRCL (i.e. Dart Realty Cayman Ltd.) and not to carry out a review of the most suitable overall waste management solution for Grand Cayman.’ Government also ‘instructed the EAB not to examine alternatives for the location of the WMF in Bodden Town.’”

Coalition leader Mr. Gregg Anderson adds that “the Terms of Reference (TOR) for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) were restricted accordingly, so our country is left with a crippled and meaningless EIA.” In regards to conflict of interest, Mr. Anderson points out that Cardno Entrix, the consulting firm charged with carrying out the EIA was also involved in defining the TOR for the EIA. “No consulting firm should be allowed to draft the TOR of an impact assessment that they will be conducting themselves. It’s against the profession’s code of conduct and international best procurement practices. Cardno Entrix may suffer adverse publicity, but Cayman is gambling with its environment.” As well, Mr. Anderson considers “a blatant conflict of interest” that Cardno Entrix was “selected by, hired by, and is being paid by Dart, the very proponent of the project. Can anyone seriously expect an honest, reliable and independent assessment?”

Addressing the issue of due process, Coalition leader Mr. Vincent Frederick states that “Government allowed Dart to proceed with the BT dump plan even before the results of such a ‘friendly’ and crippled EIA. Dart was drilling and testing at the proposed dump site in Midland Acres (MA) before the TOR was made public and discussed, in fact before it was even agreed to. Dart seems above the law and due process, as if its dump is a ‘done deal’, without an EIA report, without rezoning the MA site for heavy industrial use, and without Planning Authority permission.”

As to transparency, Mr. Frederick adds that “there has been no public consultation on the Dart proposal whatsoever. Minister of Environment Scotland, also an MLA for BT, refuses a public debate in front of his constituents. No Government entity has ever made the decision that the GT dump must be closed and moved; there has never been an independent site selection process if the GT dump does have to moved; not a single document promised to the Coalition has been submitted. Minister Scotland even broke his promise to meet with the Coalition to hear its concerns.”

Mr. Anderson considers it “obvious” that the only motivation for “forcing a dump on BT, is Dart’s desire to get the GT dump away from its upscale Camana Bay development, regardless of the consequences for the people of Bodden Town and the island’s environment, regardless of the costs and perils of putting the dump so far from the source of the waste. Moving the dump instead of fixing the problem where it is may be in the interests of a private developer, but clearly not in the interests of Caymanians.” For Mr. Anderson, this is “the most scandalous conflict of interest. It must be investigated and stopped.”