BELAIR--St. Maarten Pride Foundation expressed concern Friday that there is a possibility that the sand being used for the ongoing replenishing of the Belair beach might have been contaminated.

The foundation's vice president Rueben Thompson on Friday said apparently the sand being used is the same as that for the ring road project, which was dredged from the Great Bay harbour. He said the Great Bay area was a very busy shipping area and hull cleaning and painting took place in some of the boatyards along the Great Bay shoreline.

Tributyltin-based (TBT) anti-fouling paints often used for hull painting in Great Bay are a great reason for concern, Thompson said. "The sand may, therefore, be contaminated with suspended particulate material associated with chemical hull-cleaning and painting contaminants copper and lead."

According to Thompson, an inquiry was made during a meeting in April 2009 with Environmental Protection in the Caribbean (EPIC), the VROM Department director and Lievense Consulting Engineers whether the sand dredged from Great Bay had been tested for contaminants.

"We were informed that such testing had not taken place and we are sure it has not been carried out since then," said Thompson.

Moreover, Thompson said the groynes placed at Belair Beach Hotel facilities prevented the beach from being naturally replenished. "The sand currently being trucked there will eventually be washed away again and is therefore a very temporary fix," he said.

"The commissioner's statement that Pride is 'complaining for complaining's sake' is absolute nonsense. The commissioner needs to carry out projects in a proper and responsible manner and ... move away from his autocratic tendencies," Thompson said. "The sand should have been tested before the project was carried out and we very much encourage the government to go ahead and carry out the tests."

Thompson also said heavy equipment and driving on beaches in general violated the beach policy. He said that although the Belair/Little Bay beach wasn't one of St. Maarten's most important turtle nesting beaches, turtles had been known to nest there every now and then. Turtle nesting season runs from March through November.

"There were still some suitable areas for turtle nesting on Belair Beach before the beach was 'replenished.' It could therefore very well be that turtle nests have been lost, destroyed or covered by the activities taking place," Thompson explained.

"Large-scale activities on our beaches, or anywhere else for that matter, require permits. The commissioner should have followed the proper procedure and requested a permit, which would have allowed interested persons and the environmental groups to review the plans and provide advice where necessary."

Another major issue, according to Thompson, is that there is no clearly marked and permanent public access to the beach. "The beach is surrounded by a fence with a gate and the properties next to it are privately owned. Suppose the owners choose to close the gate? Will the government ensure public access, considering that all of St. Maarten's beaches are public beaches and should be accessible?"