Press release from BTdumpFree

Outraged residents in Midland Acres have contacted the Coalition to Keep BT Dump Free about the high level of truck traffic and mysterious drilling witnessed at the site proposed by Dart and Government for a new dump.  “We don’t know for sure what’s going on, but we highly suspect that Dart and Government are again trying to force a dump on the BT district behind our backs,” stated Mr. Alain Beiner, a Coalition leader, and owner of a small, award-winning hotel in Bodden Town.  “As far as we know, there has been no Environmental Impact Assessment, and no permission from Planning to establish a dump in Bodden Town.“

Mr. Charles Clifford, former Minister of Tourism and Environment, and another Coalition leader, adds:  “There has still been no consultation with the people of our district, and of course their agreement has never been solicited.  We’d also like to hear the opinion of Mrs. Gina Ebanks-Petrie, Director of the Department of Environment.  Her candid view on the senseless move of the George Town dump to Bodden Town would be of great interest to us all.  All the more so since the Central Tenders Committee (CTC) had unequivocally rejected the Dart proposal, expressing ‘great concern’ about the impact of a dump in an ‘environmentally sensitive’ area.”  Mr. Clifford asks if Dart “will accept legal liability and responsibility for the work it would do at both the George Town dump and at the proposed dump in Bodden Town.”  The Coalition has pointed to the enormous dangers of capping the GT landfill, the potential for staggering damage and financial claims, and the dangers inherent in establishing a new dump.

And since Government managed to dump the CTC’s first choice to solve the problem of Mount Trashmore – a waste-to-energy facility at the present site, with no need to contaminate a pristine residential area — and then embrace the CTC’s very last choice, the Coalition asks Government if they plan to call for new tenders, in an open and public process like the last one.  “Will there be a public rezoning process for the proposed site in Midland Acres,” asks Mr. Beiner.  Relocating the dump would transform a pristine residential/agricultural area into heavy industrial use, and the Coalition fears that this too “will be pushed through behind our backs. What exactly does Dart and Government intend to do about the increased truck traffic to be expected, given that around 92% of the island’s waste is generated in the George Town-SMB-West Bay area, far from the proposed site?  It’s been months since Minister Mark Scotland promised to report any new developments to the public, but we fear that he has lied to us again.

“We remind Government and Dart that they still haven’t answered a single of our questions, or produced any of the documents we asked for,” claims Coalition leader Mr. Vincent Frederick.  “Their so-called ‘ForCayman Investment Alliance’ (FCIA) seems to be using secrecy and deceit to force a dump on Bodden Town.  They’re ignoring due course and transparency; they’ve chosen their site in advance of any study or consultation, and regardless of the consequences for the residents, businesses and environment of our district.  Government has broken its promises to the Coalition and to the people of our district.”

On December 15^th last, following an invitation he himself issued, Mr. Scotland turned down suggested dates for a meeting to hear Coalition concerns.  “We won’t be able to meet until January, 2012.”  The Coalition never heard from him again.  In a December 20^th interview, Mr. Scotland referred to a “private 1990s study” (in which, he admitted, Bodden Town was not the first choice) and to a “similar study by Dart”.  In response to an e-mail request to produce these documents, Mr. Scotland replied:  “We will review the email and provide responses in due course.”  Almost ten months later, nothing has been received.

“We still don’t know which government entity decided that the GT dump had to be relocated, and who exactly picked Bodden Town”, adds Mr. Gregg Anderson, another Coalition leader.  “What Dart proposes to build in its so-called ‘Phase I’ in Bodden Town, is nothing but a copy of the GT dump, and a future Mount Trashmore.  There is no yard waste composting area, no hurricane debris management area, no bailing and transfer station, and certainly no waste-to-energy facility.  What Bodden Town would in fact be getting has a single ‘landfill cell’ at its core, at which the island’s trash would be dumped, piled up, and left there.“

The Coalition believes that the people of this island deserve answers.  “What exactly is going on in Midland Acres?  Is Dart drilling for oil or gold; do they in fact have permission to drill for anything?  Residents are deeply concerned, and demand a reply from our elected representatives”, continues Mr. Frederick.  “It’s unthinkable that we can be left in the dark about such a senseless threat to our district and to the island’s environment.  But Minister Scotland and his ‘partners’ in Government and at Dart, can’t hide the facts:  if we let them proceed and complete ‘Phase I’, with the GT dump out of Dart’s sight and ‘exported’ to Midland Acres, the new dump will be forgotten and left to the same people who have mismanaged the present dump since 1983”.

The Coalition firmly believes – as did the present Government when it initially accepted the CTC’s recommendation – that the problem can and should be resolved where it is, that Mount Trashmore can be eliminated and the GT dump properly managed.  “The sole reason for moving the dump, contaminating a new site, and endangering Grand Cayman’s environment,” insists Mr. Clifford, “is to get the dump ‘out of Dart’s backyard’ in order to facilitate the expansion of Camana Bay and thereby enhance Dart’s real estate value”.