~ As GEBE waste treatment system malfunctions ~
CAY BAY--Oil oozing through a pipe that conveys the cooling water for electricity company GEBE's generators back into the sea resulted in major contamination of the Cay Bay beach yesterday.
GEBE explained in a press statement that its waste treatment system (WTS) normally skimmed off any waste oil from the production process before it could reach the environment.
The waste oil is collected and added to the fuel used to run the diesel engines used to generate electricity, thereby eliminating any waste oil. However, GEBE's WTS was overloaded Thursday morning, causing the waste oil to overflow into the sea.
According to the statement, a power plant shift supervisor discovered the oil leak at proximately 6:30am Thursday, and immediately shut down the WTS. The contents of the WTS oil traps were then pumped into a holding reservoir temporarily, until the WTS was operational again. A small boat was launched with a crew using special oil-absorbent pads to soak up the oil.
St. Maarten Pride Foundation's Reuben Thompson said he had been alerted to the crude oil spillage around 8:30am Thursday by Rodrick Carty of Seaside Nature Park, which is located on the beachfront.
Thompson said he had visited the scene immediately and discovered an immense amount of oil still flowing through the GEBE pipe, which runs directly onto the beach. He said most of the beach had been stained and damaged by oil by that time.
Various entities such as St. Maarten Nature Foundation, the Environmental Planning and Property Management ROB Department, the Coast Guard, the Fire Department and GEBE were then contacted and they all sent representatives to the Cay Bay power plant to examine the situation.
Thompson said once GEBE had determined what engine line was excreting the oil, activity on that line had been shut down.
In GEBE's press statement the company noted that the power plant management team had taken the opportunity to explain to those entities present the measures that were being taken to reduce the impact on the environment. The team also gave a tour of the current waste treatment system and an update about the GEBE oil containment boom project.
Thompson said what was unfortunate about this incident was that most likely the oil had been leaking since the night before and because it had not been detected soon enough, too much of the oil had already spilled out onto the beach and into the sea before a containment boom could be put in place to prevent further spreading.
As much of the oil had already soaked into the sand, he said, the only solution to cleaning up the mess would be to have the contaminated sand trucked off the beach. He noted that the extent of the spill had been extreme, with much coral and many rocks on the beach having been covered in oil.
Moreover, he continued, a major concern is that entities such as GEBE have no workers trained in oil-spill-response measures and the company is not equipped with the necessary oil-spill-response material.
However, the company said in its statement that it had started construction of an oil boom some time ago and that marine engineering works already executed had been severely damaged by unfavourable wave action and surf in Cay Bay. The oil boom will be connected to two walls extending into the sea and will contain any spilled oil. Thereafter, a skimmer will be used to recover the oil.
Thompson said yesterday's incident demonstrated the dire need for a sit-down with local environmental groups, Government's Emergency and Disaster Committee and the major players, to establish an oil-spill-response team. He recommended the major players cover the cost of stocking and maintaining such a team.
Furthermore, Thompson suggested that GEBE be fined considerably for this incident and that the company should allocate funds to immediately clean up the beach; otherwise, cleaning the beach would be left up to the environmental groups. Therefore GEBE could at least sponsor the clean-up, he concluded.
