Activists refuse closed door meeting over dump EIA

| 15/04/2013

yard-sign-1 (240x300).jpg(CNS): The Coalition to Keep Bodden Town Dump Free said that it has refused to meet with Cardno Entrix, the company paid by Dart to undertake the environmental impact assessment in connection with the developer’s proposal to relocated Grand Cayman’s landfill to the district. Coalition leaders said they were not prepared to legitimize what they describe as a whitewash and that anything that needs to be said by the technical firm should be said publicly. The coalition members believe the study is not objective and independent as the evaluators were chosen and paid for by Dart. They also say that the people were never asked for their input on the need to relocate the George Town (GT) landfill, or on the choice of BT as the new site.

“Cardno Entrix (CE) was chosen and paid by the Dart Group to produce a study of its dump proposal showing that the dump in Bodden Town (BT) would have no significant negative impact,” said Coalition chair Alain Beiner. “CE knows full well that what the Coalition has to say is said openly and publicly. The only reason to invite us to a private meeting is to legitimize an illegitimate ‘draft environmental statement’ and an unethical relationship.”

Marleine Gagnon, another coalition spokesperson  said the Environmental Advisory Board (EAB) was muzzled after suggesting that it also search for the best waste management solution for Grand Cayman.

“It was then ordered by government ministers to restrict its deliberations solely to the Dart dump proposal, and to Dart’s proposed site in BT. But, we won’t be muzzled like the EAB; we won’t be restricted to commenting on the CE report.”

No government entity has ever decided that the GT dump had to be moved and no one knows who decided that BT was the best location, if indeed the dump had to be moved.

“Dart’s dump proposal, nothing more than another landfill, is an environmental and social injustice,” Gagnon said. “Dart wants to needlessly dump the island’s waste problem on an environmentally sensitive area, where ordinary working people invested in homes with no prior knowledge of a waste management facility in their neighbourhood; rather than rectifying the waste problem where it is, in an industrial zone in GT close to the source of most of our trash."

See details of invitation and the coalition’s refusal below.

The DoE is hosting two meetings this week in BT and GT regarding the EAB report. See details of meeting, related story and report on CNS:

BT landfill EIA published

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Beautiful EIA report ,well done . Now reality for a moment. The reason that the the GT dump needs to have something done to it is that the people responsible for it  screwed up. They had 40 plus years and they still screwing it up. They have lied , cheated, misfiled and threw away the evidence for years. So you think that anything is going to change when it goes to bodden town? No!! Stop thinking that these people give a dam.

    We have wind going east to west. That means the sea goes east to west. If you put more radioactive materiel in the plastic liner at ground level , water will moved the materiel west through underground water. The WMF is now on the east-west arteriel boundary next to midland acres they have changed it further north. Which means its now closer to midland acres. The WMF cannot be at ground level which is sea level. It must be at least 10 ft. above sea level so that there is no leaching of liquids. 

    Why is Gov't allowing the zoning change for this property but not other property in the vicinity. We have a WMF going to agricultural land and changing the zoning to industrial. So shouldnt the land around it have a opportunity to change to industrial? What about a road ? Why wasn't a road also included in the deal?We want to open up the easern district then lets get a road also its only fair .West bay getting a 4 lane road straight to gt .Thats not the area with the most amount of people.

  2. Cant You see says:

    Charles Clifford has now taken over the coalition and has made it political. He will destroy any chance in hell they had of remaininf impartial and transparent. Chickie please withdraw from thisrace, you are doing nothing else but splitting votes and helping the udp

    • Anonymous says:

      PPM/UDP/Dart Bloggers busy again Chuckie ! Do what you have to do Chuckster cuz we know you've been involved with the Coalition from day one and we know that you will ensure that there is no dump in Bodden Town. The PPMers trying to jump unto the 'No dump train'  now and trying to make it their fight ! LOL

      • Anonymous says:

        Dont go fighting against the PPM. We need as much help as we can get.

        The only people that really want this dump here are Dart, UDP (Except John John and Mark they are aginst, I mean they for it hell who knows), GT residents and the one with screws loose also knowsn as For a Dump Free GT.

      • Afraid not says:

        It was the PPM who held the first meeting and invited people who later formed the coalition to speak along with their candidates. What short memories we all have. 

    • Kmanlady says:

      Why don't you SHUT the @%$#^& up. Chucky is the only one right now with BALLs to do smething against all of YOU crocked !@## people who live amongs us….

  3. Coalition For A Dump Free G.T. says:

    We would be more than happy to meet with you. Perhaps the Bodden Town few will commission and pay for their own EIA? Thought not.

    • JJTA says:

      If you wish to meet with me I would welcome the oppurtunity, I wholeheartedley accept your invitation to discuss this matter with you and your group. My name is Jonathan Joseph Thomas Adam and my telephone number is 928-5501. I shall intently await your reply.

      • Coalition For A Dump Free G.T. says:

        You bringing the nickel bag or are we?

        • JJTA says:

          Nice try but no cigar. To be blunt, I think that you are afraid to have a real discussion on this issue and the many connected issues that it entails. Still waiting, make sure you put on your Dart Depends when and if you do though. In all seriousness, the fact that the dump is and has been an ever increasing and burgeoning problem in Cayman is known by all. I am willing to discuss this but I believe that your inherent hypocrisy, allegiance to a txxxf who hides from the public eye like some delusional comic book villain of all too real negative national consequence, lack of testicular fortitude, disingenuous rhetoric, pompous yet hollow elitist delusions and definitive lack of a real solution all seem to be showing you thus far for the coward and/or cowards that I suspect you to be. The issue of the dump, along with a veritable plethora of other issues this country faces, stem directly from the institutionalized corruption and gold rush mentality of the last few decades which have resulted in the definitive ignoring of God given foresight which has now manifested itself into the towering mountain of garbage of toxic substance which I have offered to discuss with your supposed "group". You can continue to blow smoke and/or bubbles if you wish but it will not address that which offends your poncy upturned nasal passages nor the greater issues of your benefactor's debilatory undue influence and manipulation of ever mounting national issues.

  4. Dred says:

    I want to applaud the Coalition for their stance on this matter and they have 1 million % of my support EXCEPT for Vincent. We do not take kindly to those who sell their soul for the almighty dollar.

    You may not even get the amount of votes you got the last time you ran.

     

     

  5. Anonymous says:

    This group is forever complaining that everything is too secret … then they get this chance to meet with someone directly and they say no! guess it's obvious they're ony interested in moaning and complaining and leaving real discussion up to "someone else".  

  6. Anonymous says:

    Finally some transparency! You cannot legitimize an illegal deal!! This is why the procedures are in place for us to follow! Otherwise, what kind of world would this be. The Dart proposal was the worst one and in fact a company was already selected to start to work. But the then Premier and his Govt decided (for what reasons we will never know) to change the plan and give it to DART…will guess what, it can't go that way. Now they want to make this deal legal! Give me a break! Just like the Port deal it's back to the drawing board!

     

     

  7. Anonymous says:

    I have a brilliant solution. We should all keep our own garbage on our own property. That way we will not mess up anyone elses back yard. We can still leach all our oil, paint, solvents and battery acid into the ground just like the dump in george town. No noisy garbage trucks. Great for big back yard fires and the kids will love to pick thru for buried treasure. Dump? Who needs a dump. Recycle? What the heck is that? Let's keep it simple. DUMP IN YOUR OUWN BACK YARD……… Brilliant !!!!!!!!!

     

    • Anonymous says:

      13: 11

       

      Very good idea.

      With all the leeching of caustic material and poison in our water lens, lets shut down the George Town Dump.

      Let each property owner revert back to the days when we had to dump all our garbage in one corner of our own back yard and burn it.

      We have to be the most spitefiul people on earth. We wanted to remove the GT dump from as far back as 1980.

      Now because of one  group wanted to leech the government of millions for themselves, which wanted to continue on the present site,but  didnt get the opportunity, they  are now trying to destroy the UDP party.

      The BTers, 90% dont even realise where the new facility is going, have decided to  make  a political football of the situation.

      Listening to the new cadidates, i hear the voice of jealousy, hate and envy….against Mr. Dart.  Also the dissatisfaction of the 3 BT candidates bringing home to them,  a dump they call it. They wanted a different type of  development for BT.

       

       

      • Anonymous says:

        More than 90% of us know EXACTLY where they plan to put the dump.  Shut up with your ignorance.  How exactly will this one group achieve to "leech the government of millions for themselves"?  Do you honestly think they are going to financially benefit from objecting to the dump being (illegally) moved to BT?  If you listen properly, the majority of candidates, regardless of district,  spew hate jealousy and envy against Dart, against each other, against the ex pats and even their own people.  Your ramblings here are dillusional.

  8. Anonymous says:

    THATS RICH !!!

    I can't believe what KBTDF are now saying?!

    The most thorough and exhaustive study – paid for by Dart, becuase CIG would certainly not have forked out the cash needed to get such a study undertaken. If CIG had done a "back of the envelope" study, that would have been good enough either. With such an exhaustive study undertaken by a highly regarded company everyone can see the reason and benefits behind this outcome. It's not simply a pin stuck in the map – okay guys lets put it….. here!!!

    Then to have the nerve to say that the New Waste Management Facility is nothing short of another landfill is utterly rediculous. Do they think that 100% of the garbage and refuse delivered to the site is going to magically vanish!!!????????

    Don't be so silly. Of course there will be land fill items, but where as the GT Dump is just that, the new Waste Management Facilty will recycle and reuse much of the waste – leaving just a small fraction left to be placed into a properly lined repository to be eventually grassed over.

    And lastly, that's rich…. you should be campaigning about the catastrophic damage decades of unregulated dumping has done to the pristine – high populated area of SMB. That certainly something worth getting your knickers in a twist about.

    What KBTDF is trying to do is make you think that a small compost heap is the same as a toxic cespool mountain that is the GT Dump.

    The study shows that the new location is the best option other than teleporting our garbage to another galaxy far, far away!

     

    • Anonymous says:

      Wake up and read the document.    We get three lined pits from Dart, and he gets to quaduple the value of his adjacent property.    There is NO committment to anything further from Mr. Dart, and the proposal doesn't even include monitoring wells to measure leaked contamination.   

       

      • Anonymous says:

        What land crab mentality!

        Consider that this is a win-win situation. New environmentally sustainable waste management facility centrally located to support all the areas of the island efficiently. PLUS, the capping (to minimize further toxic leackage into surrounding areas) and cessation of further dumping into the GT Dump AND the creation of a park area for all citizens to enjoy.

        The green fielding of the dump will not increase the value of the land in the surrounding area. What it will do is improve the quality of life for all people currently blighted by the bad smells and toxic discharge from the dump.

      • Anonymous says:

        Three elevated concrete containment areas high above mean sea level are discussed in this WMF EIA as well as 100-year storm surge protection and mitigation.  The only mention of pit digging is in relation to the existing local impact of two quarries which are currently allowed to dig down to minus 50 MSL (you must be up in arms about that).  The monitoring well locations were drilled and the piles of baseline data already collected is in the EIA, had you actually comprehended what you read.  

      • Anonymous says:

        Figure 1-1 and 4.2-1 shows 13 distinct areas over 110 acres site, "comprising operation and recycling areas, a MSW, Class I10 non-hazardous landfill and potential development of a WTE facility".  You must not have read very farif you missed the very first image in the EIA report!  

        Section 4.1-2: Leachate collection and filtration is not currently done at all at GT dump.  SO WHEN IT RAINS, THE WATER GOES THROUGH THE TRASH PILE AND FLOWS DIRECTLY AND UNTREATED INTO THE NORTH SOUND (see No Action Alternative).  Figure 4.2-2 describes the layering composition and sloping and chanelling of the proposed fill liner to collect and filter waste.  Much more robust than a rubber lined pit.     

        Table 4.2-3 Discusses DEH waste stream data 2011-2012:

        Commercial waste 37.99%, metal waste 15.94%, residential waste 15.02%, yard waste 13.96%, consturction 10.30%, cardboard 2.30%, wooden pallets 2.20%, tires 0.57%, batteries 0.45%, derelict vehicles 0.40%, medical waste 0.26%, bulk waste 0.23%, food waste 0.17%, recycling of oil 0.05%, special waste water sludge 0.05%, sand 0.05%, christmas trees 0.03%, aluminum cans 0.02%, deceased animals 0.01%, foam 0.001%  

        69,787 total annual tons and expected to grow as population expands – primarily from developments in the Eastern districts.

    • Bono says:

      Do you anything about EIAs?                  Obviously not.  EIAs almost always have alternatives.This is just a whitewash.

  9. Anonymous says:

    To quote directly from the activists letter:

    "We consider these illegitimate, and your [Cardno Entrix] relationship with Dart to be unethical" 

    Really?? 'Unethical'??  How is this unethical?   

  10. Anonymous says:

    And this blatant unwillingness for them to meet with Cardno shows their true colors…

    • Anonymous says:

      Cardno had 300 pages and a ton of Darts money to say what they had to say to the people of the Cayman Islands on a matter that concerns every human being in this country. WHY is it that they now want to meet with these few members of the Cayman public behind closed doors? We have had ENOUGH under the table wheeling and dealing in this country in the past four years to keep our collective heads reeling for the next hundred years, Cayman. And it continues. Every single day of our lives folks.The latest being our beloved gowerment, apparently on instructions from an ex-premier with eleven criminal charges against him, giving away millions of our hard earned dollars to churches to ensure they get their forever dishonerable backsides re-elected in order to continue with their dirt. STAND for somehing, Cayman, or you will all fall for anything. Congratulations activists. Enough is enough.