EMA wants tougher pollution laws

Last Wednesday, fishermen of Otaheite Bay, south Oropouche spotted an oily substance floating in the waters and alerted other fishermen who were venturing further out to sea to investigate the sighting. State-owned Petrotrin immediately dispatched a team to conduct tests of oil and water quality. Members of the EMA’s Emergency Response and Investigative Unit also conducted investigations in which water samples from the sea were collected and residents were interviewed.

EMA’s chairman Allan Bachan yesterday described the Otaheite oil spill as an environmental crime. He also said the nation must take the incident seriously given the increasing frequencies of oil seepages. Bachan said, “Trinidad and Tobago needs to appreciate these type of incidents because they need to be taken very seriously as this will have an impact on human health and well-being. These sort of incidents and the frequencies in which they occur, reinforces the need to have the necessary legislation to deal with such incidents.”

In calling for legislation to hold companies accountable, Bachan cited the Draft Waste Management (Hazardous Waste) Rules 2014, which outline the procedures for the transportation and disposal of hazardous waste. But Bachan said, however, the rules which also recommends hefty fines for persons who do not properly dispose of hazardous waste materials, is still out for public comment.

By weekend, Bachan said, results of samples of tests conducted on water samples off the Otaheite coasts, would be known. The EMA chairman said, “It was the Christmas weekend, so no labs were open. The EMA acts in accordance with the law and will not pass judgement based on personal interests.”

Vice-president of the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Fisher Folk and president of the Claxton Bay Fishing Association, Kishore Boodram, described the Otaheite spill as “small” compared to the December 17, 2013 oil spill.

“It is a small bit, but the EMA should get involved. Too often, we are meeting oil and it’s not just Petrotrin. There are other barges that offload oil in the gulf, like tugboats. Even the repairing of vessels can result in the seeping of oil. Therefore, the EMA and the IMA (Institute of Marine Affairs) must start working closer together. This is happening too often on the Gulf,” Boodram said.

Contacted yesterday, Petrotrin’s Communi-cations Manager, Gillian Friday, reiterated the EMA had issued a statement clearing Petrotrin from any association with the oil appearing off the coast of Otaheite. Friday said, “Further, the company is concerned about reports of the oil spill published by the local media, and, across social media yesterday, which has also impacted negatively on its reputation at this critical time.

Petrotrin further wishes to reiterate its request to the public to be mindful of their civic duty to operate within the confines of the laws of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.”