Tom Ingram, executive director of the California-based Diving Equipment and Marketing Association (DEMA) ...said the dredging of 220,000 cubic yards of seafloor at the heart of Bimini’s pristine reef system to accommodate a resort’s cruise ship ferry ...could ruin what is a “recreational diving jewel” of The Bahamas

DEMA: Dredging could devastate Bimini’s thriving dive industry

IMPOSING – The ferry pier and terminal will project 1,000 feet off the coast of North Bimini, directly into an area containing 14 of the country’s most pristine and ecologically significant dive sites. DEMA head Tom Ingraham warned that the project could ruin Bimini’s $19 million dive industry.

Top reputation among divers could be ruined by possible environmental degradation associated with the Resorts World Bimini pier terminal project, international NGO warns

As a hotly-opposed dredging operation got underway off the coast of Bimini this week despite legal challenge, a global non-profit warned that the associated environmental degradation could destroy the island’s extremely lucrative dive industry.

Tom Ingram, executive director of the California-based Diving Equipment and Marketing Association (DEMA), said the dredging of 220,000 cubic yards of seafloor at the heart of Bimini’s pristine reef system to accommodate a resort’s cruise ship ferry could ruin what is a “recreational diving jewel” of The Bahamas.

He strongly urged the government to look carefully at the project before allowing it to move forward, even as a 450-foot mammoth dredger began to excavate the seafloor this week.

“A very real concern to DEMA and to all diving businesses – especially those based in nearby Florida ­– is the fact that any environmental degradation, especially of the magnitude being described in the North Bimini Ferry Terminal Project EIA and its addendum, is likely to have a negative impact on the perception of pristine diving which Bimini now holds in the minds of diving consumers,” Ingram said.

“As a result of this project, it is possible that the number of divers visiting Bimini will decline dramatically as public perception develops regarding this project’s potential environmental impact.”

He said it is possible that this perception – and perhaps the reality – of the environmental impact will cause Bimini and The Bahamas to trade the affluent and sustainable diving consumer population for a population of less-affluent cruise and ferry consumers, with less-well-known demographic, life stage and economic characteristics.

“Such a trade of one population for another could have devastating impacts on the number of divers visiting Bimini, with a resulting economic impact on Bahamas Dive Association (BDA) members, DEMA members and the economy of Bimini,” Ingram said.

DEMA, based in San Diego, represents the business and consumer interests of the recreational scuba and snorkel diving industries around the world. DEMA’s mission is to promote sustainable growth in safe recreational scuba diving and snorkeling while protecting the underwater environment.

Located 48 miles from Florida, Bimini has long enjoyed a reputation among American DEMA members as a pristine diving and fishing location and annually attracts more than 3,000 diving visitors to businesses which belong to the BDA, as well as more than 3,700 annual diving visitors who arrive in private vessels, Ingram noted. Together, they generate more than $19 million a year for the economy of The Bahamas.

“These diving visitors are in addition to the thousands of visitors each year who make the short journey by air or boat to fish in Bimini’s unspoiled waters. These tourists currently spend an annual average of almost $2,800 each on Bimini, including spending at diving operations, hotels, restaurants and other facilities on the island,” he said.

“There is a strong possibility that any negative environmental impact could be long term in nature. Since underwater areas close to popular dive sites are being transformed to accommodate the North Bimini Ferry Terminal, even a partial failure to create the economic benefit projected will be devastating to the long term environmental and economic survival of Bimini.

“In our opinion, the potential economic upside of this project is inadequate when compared to the great risks involved with the potential for failure of this project to create positive economic benefit, and the long-term environmental risks involved.”

May 16, 2014

Save The Bays

The government is moving ahead with a National Health Insurance (NHI) plan / universal health scheme

Gibson: Gov’t Will Meet NHI 2016 Deadline

By Korvell Pyfrom
The Bahama Journal


Despite tough scrutiny from the Opposition over its ability to implement the much touted National Health Insurance (NHI) plan, Labour and National Insurance Minister Shane Gibson yesterday assured that the government is moving ahead with establishing the universal health scheme.

However, Mr. Gibson who has repeatedly been quizzed by the press about how much the government is paying a Costa Rican based firm contracted to consult the government on the plan’s implementation, was still unable to provide any figures.

“We’re not operating in a vacuum as soon as we have all the information and we are ready to release the information we will release it,” Mr. Gibson said to reporters outside of Cabinet Tuesday. “It makes no sense to me personally, to release information bits and pieces at a time.

“As soon as we are ready to release the appropriate information through the appropriate means then we will do so, but at this time we are not going to be releasing information every time the committee meets.”

The administration has announced January 2016 as the deadline for its rollout of NHI, but earlier this week Mr. Gibson announced that elements of the plan will be implemented ahead of that date.

Free National Movement (FNM) Deputy Chairman Dr. Duane Sands is among those skeptical of the plan ever coming to fruition and recently he said that the government’s track record on meeting its deadline makes it highly unlikely that NHI will ever come to reality.

But Mr. Gibson dismissed these assertions and suggested Dr. Sands is a man desperate to be elected.

“It is very difficult for me to keep responding to an always rejected man who wants to be a politician. He is at his best when he is criticising and I’m not going to endorse or authenticate what he says by responding to it,” he said.

“As soon as he is able to be elected in parliament and the people say that we want you, I will speak to him.”

The government contracted Costa Rican based Sanigest Internacional healthcare and management consultancy firm in March to provide a costing, benefits package and payment modalities report within three months.

Health Minister Dr. Perry Gomez has announced that the report is expected to be completed in early July.

May 14, 2014

Jones Bahamas

Neal Watson, president of the Bahamas Diving Association expressed grave concerns about the future of Bimini’s waters ...as the 450-foot-long cutter suction dredger, the Niccolo Machiavelli, hovers ...waiting for a legal case to make its way through the courts ...possibly clearing the way for it to dredge a channel ...to accommodate cruise ships delivering passengers to a resort and casino

Dive association: Bimini dredging ‘pending catastrophic event’

Nearly 40 years after he first began sharing the beauty of Bimini’s coral reefs, luring divers from around the world to the tiny island in the northern Bahamas, one of the most respected names in the world of undersea adventure today issued a warning that Bimini is on the verge of a “pending catastrophic event”.

Guinness world record holder, movie and TV celebrity and president of the Bahamas Diving Association Neal Watson expressed grave concerns about the future of Bimini’s waters, as the 450-foot-long cutter suction dredger, the Niccolo Machiavelli, hovers, waiting for a legal case to make its way through the courts, possibly clearing the way for it to dredge a channel to accommodate cruise ships delivering passengers to a resort and casino.

That dredging, say opponents, would wipe out some of the most spectacular coral reefs in the undersea world.

However, Malaysian-based Genting Group, which owns Resorts World Bimini (RWB), has said it needs to dredge the channel and build the pier to deliver up to 500,000 guests a year to the casino and hotel on the island that is now home to about 1,500 residents. RWB has said it is following all appropriate laws.

Concerned citizens who formed the Bimini Blue Coalition and initiated the legal action said they are worried about everything from the destruction of their way of life and the management of human waste, to the lack of direct economic benefit and the destruction of the reefs. Six of the world’s best, experts have said, lie in the path of the planned channel. Concerned citizens also worry that the dredging will stir up so much silt and cause so much turbidity that it will kill off Bimini’s rich fishing grounds that were immortalized in Ernest Hemingway’s novel “Islands in the Stream”.

“Having started the first recreational dive operation in Bimini in 1975 and still being involved in promoting diving in Bimini, I am devastated by the pending catastrophic event about to occur in this diver’s paradise,” said Watson.

“This fragile ecosystem has already suffered a degree of degradation over the past 40 years, which has occurred throughout not only the Caribbean, but also the entire world. However, this dredging project will cause more irreversible damage to the reefs in the next 30 days than would normally occur over the next 30 years.

“This is not just an environmental issue but an economic issue. In addition to the three top-of-class dive operations located in Bimini that generate millions of dollars in revenue for the hotels, marinas, restaurants, bars and merchants, Bimini is uniquely located 48 miles from South Florida, which has the largest number of registered boats, as well as the largest concentration of divers in the continental United States. Because of Bimini’s proximity to South Florida and its reputation as a world-class dive destination, it attracts hundreds of small boats with divers that come to experience Bimini’s incredible reefs and support the local hotels, marinas and merchants. All of this is in jeopardy,” said Watson.

“Bimini has attracted fishermen, boaters and divers since the days of Hemingway,” added Watson, who continues to promote Bimini and was recently re-elected for another two-year term as head of the Bahamas Diving Association, the organization he has headed for 15 years. “The uniqueness, natural beauty, pristine clear waters, abundant marine life and incredible reefs are threatened.”

May 14, 2014

thenassauguardian

Concerned citizens who oppose the Resorts World Bimini mega-resort are cautiously celebrating ...after the developers agreed, at the urging of a judge, not to begin dredging without handing over all the necessary permits

Bimini locals remain wary over resort’s lack of transparency

CAUSE FOR CONCERN – The Niccolo Machiavelli dredger anchored off Bimini’s pristine and ecologically significant reef system. The 450-foot vessel is to be used as part of the controversial construction of a 1,000 foot pier and ferry terminal by Resorts World Bimini. The developers have agreed, at the urging of a judge, not to start dredging without delivering copies of all the necessary permits and approvals to concerned citizens.

Coalition delighted by pledge not to dredge without handing over permits; still concerned about secrecy, failure to consult with the community

Concerned citizens who oppose the Resorts World Bimini mega-resort are cautiously celebrating after the developers agreed, at the urging of a judge, not to begin dredging without handing over all the necessary permits.

The Bimini Blue Coalition, which initiated a judicial review challenge of the project citing the potential for extensive environmental damage foreshadowed in the company’s own Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), claims if any permits or approvals do exist, they have been granted by the government in secret, despite numerous requests for information.

“We are delighted to know that Resorts World intends to abide by Bahamian law and commend the legal team that has represented us so well,” said the coalition in a statement. “But at the same time, given the lack of transparency thus far on this issue, where the government and the developer are concerned, we are still very wary.

“We have requested that we be notified before any permits or approvals might be granted and given an opportunity to present very valid reasons why permits shouldn’t be granted.

“This resort will be a game changer for Bimini. One can’t walk back the cat. We don’t want to awaken one morning to find permits have been granted, work is beginning and the people of Bimini have never had any input whatsoever.”

The developer’s attorney, John Wilson, agreed to produce the permits before dredging last week Friday at the urging of the court, after the coalition’s lead lawyer, Fred Smith, QC, sought an injunction to force Resorts World Bimini’s hand.

“In all fairness and justice, given that this entire development is before the court, we ought to have sight of the relevant permits so that we can take the appropriate actions,” Smith argued, adding that the arrival of a massive dredger off the coast of the island suggested that a start to the dredging was imminent.

The area tapped for excavation to accommodate a cruise ship-size ferry includes six of Bimini’s pristine reefs and is dangerously close to eight others, the coalition says. Smith told the court his clients are seeking to prevent “irreparable” ecological damage.

Several scientists and experts have backed this claim, with international dive guru Neal Watson recently saying dredging in Bimini will cause more irreversible damage to reefs in 30 days than would normally occur in 30 years.

“An entire process has been undertaken, in secret, where we have not been given an opportunity to be consulted, and to make a considered contribution to the decision-maker as to whether a permit should or should not be granted. We have been asking for them, they haven’t given them,” Smith told the court. “We were told we would be given them, we now find the dredger, at the site, we still haven’t seen a permit.”

Court of Appeal President Justice Anita Allen pointed out that Wilson had already given a commitment to the Supreme Court that his clients would not begin work without permits. She asked why he could not simply give another undertaking not to begin dredging without first issuing notice that the permission had been granted, and providing copies of the permits to the coalition.

“You have nothing to hide, you have your permits – I don’t know if you have them or not – but you can’t dredge until you have them,” she told Wilson. “The further undertaking I’m asking: can you not go a step further and say ‘We will give you a copy of the permits before we dredge’?

What’s wrong with that? If they are all lawful, if they are all legal, they are all properly given, what’s the problem?”

Before committing to provide the permits, Wilson argued that although a similar commitment had been given in the lower court, his clients should not be held to it as the matter had been stayed pending the outcome of the appeal.

Justice Abdulai Conteh said he was “troubled” by this line of argument, adding that the court must guard against any move to alter the facts on the ground in Bimini and thereby undermine the entire proceedings, effectively rendering the hearings futile.

“This is not semantics or if you like, some theory. The courts are there to do justice, regardless of who or what is involved,” he told Wilson.

The court also asked the government’s attorney David Higgins if he could confirm whether permits had in fact already been granted.

Higgins said he did not have that information – a statement which drew an expression of disbelief from Smith, who pointed out that in its draft bill of costs, the Attorney General’s Office had claimed 48 hours were spent investigating what permits had or had not been granted, at a combined cost of $46,000.

The appeal itself centers on the question of costs, and was applied for against a Supreme Court decision that the Bimini Blue Coalition must pay a combined $650,000 as security ­- $400,000 to the developer and $250,000 to the government – before the case could continue.

Earlier on Friday, Smith presented a number of amendments to his original notice of appeal, several of which Wilson objected to. In particular, he opposed the claim that the amount the Bimini Blue Coalition had been asked to pay was excessive to the point that it effectively denied the applicant and other grass-roots organizations of their right to access the courts.

Wilson argued that the court had given very strict guidelines when allowing an extension of time for the appeal, and that Smith was going outside those guidelines.

A protracted legal discussion ensued, with Justice Allen maintaining that Smith had been given strict instructions to limit his appeal to certain provisions of the original notice. Justice Conteh, however, said in his view Smith’s additions went to the heart of the appeal ­- the question of what the costs should have been.
Eventually, Smith asked leave to amend his notice to better reflect the earlier instructions of the court.

The court also questioned Smith’s attempt to drop the case against Resorts World Bimini in an effort to focus on the government, specifically the process by which it granted permits to the developer. In this way, Smith sought to avoid having to pay security for costs, which he has maintained his clients cannot afford.
It was noted the Supreme Court earlier ruled that failure to pay any part of the $650,000 would lead to the entire case being thrown out.

Although Justice Conteh said that in his opinion, it was a composite ruling and the two respondents could be separated, Justice Allen was not convinced and Smith indicated his willingness to argue the appeal against both parties if necessary.

May 13, 2014

Save The Bays

Irresponsible assumptions in the aragonite issue and debate

Fueling alarm and confusion

Dangers loom with irresponsible agitation

By CANDIA DAMES
Managing Editor
candia@nasguard.com

The alarm over aragonite is reaching a fever pitch.

A coalition of pastors, union leaders and civil society activists has been making the rounds on talk shows, demanding that the government negotiate higher royalties for aragonite, a unique mineral with a wide range of uses.

At a press conference in Rawson Square last Tuesday, National Congress of Trade Unions of The Bahamas President John Pinder estimated that the government could pocket as much as $300 million per month, or $4.2 billion a year, if it renegotiated the royalties to no less than $350 per metric ton.

The government currently receives $2 per metric ton on aragonite exported from Ocean Cay, just south of Bimini.

The figures quoted by Pinder are significant amounts.

The coalition also says in its fact sheet being circulated that the Bahamian aragonite operation has the potential to be a multi-trillion-dollar industry.

President of Sandy Cay Development Co. Limited Tony Myers, whose company has a 25-year lease from the Bahamas government, said they are selling on average at $12 per metric ton — far from the $900 figure we keep hearing from the coalition.

At the press conference last week, Pinder was supported by Dwight Smith, chairman of the Police Staff Association; Gregory Archer, president of the Prison Staff Association; members of the Bahamas National Citizens Coalition, and other activists who claim the royalty portion of the agreement between Sandy Cay and the government is up for renewal next month.

We asked Pinder on Friday where the numbers he quoted came from.

While Pinder was the spokesman at the press conference, he told us he did not personally do the research and advised us to speak to Wesley Campbell, who he said is the researcher for the Bahamas National Citizens Coalition.

But a seemingly irritated Campbell refused to speak to National Review yesterday.

He angrily accused us of “deceiving” the coalition’s chairman, Rev. Andrew Stewart, by failing to provide him with a copy of the lease between Sandy Cay and the government.

Campbell said the failure of National Review to turn over the lease to the coalition was deceptive because the coalition had previously provided National Review with information as part of its probe into the aragonite issue.

While Campbell refused to speak to us, Stewart did so on Friday night.

We questioned him about the information his group has put into the public domain.

Stewart said the coalition has a research team that has done a lot of work.

We asked him about the coalition’s claim in a fact sheet that the lease between Sandy Cay and the government of The Bahamas is “renewable every two years” and was granted by the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) government.

He insisted this was a fact.

When informed by National Review that the lease was signed under the Ingraham administration and does not speak to renewal every two years, Stewart said this statement by the coalition had been based on an “assumption”.

We found this admission simply unbelievable.

Asked whether the coalition leaders have read the lease, Stewart admitted that they had not and asked National Review if he could have a copy.

We then committed to asking our source whether this would be possible.

We believe the coalition was confused by a letter written by Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister David Davis on June 3, 2010 to H. Campbell Cleare III, the attorney for Sandy Cay.

In that letter, Davis advised Sandy Cay that it could recommence its aragonite operation while a new lease was negotiated. Sandy Cay bought the old lease in 2009 from AES Corporation, which operated at Ocean Cay and unsuccessfully sought to get approval from the Bahamas government for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) operation.

The government signed a 25-year lease with Sandy Cay on April 20, 2012.

The lease signed with Sandy Cay provides for “a royalty computed as B$2 per ton for demised mineral exported from The Bahamas encompassing the first five years of the lease, after which the royalty shall be computed as 10 percent of the sales price, with a minimum fee of B$2 per ton up to a maximum fee of B$12 per ton for demised mineral exported from The Bahamas”.

The lease was backdated to June 3, 2010 when negotiations began.

Admission

After admitting that the coalition is agitating even though it has not read the lease, Stewart said the fact that the lease is not up for renewal adds strength to the coalition’s argument.

“It’s unthinkable to us that the lease would have been a mere blanket 25-year lease and after over 40 years having been renewed by successive governments periodically, for the government to just give them a 25-year blanket,” said Stewart, who also could not prove that the government previously agreed to leases renewable every three years.

The government’s former lease for Ocean Cay had no such provision either.

“What our assumption was, not seeing as you have seen the 2012 lease, having only had in our possession the 2010 lease, we assumed that it was renewed somewhere around the anniversary of the 2010 year lease,” Stewart explained.

But again, there was no 2010 lease, just a letter written by the government to Sandy Cay allowing the operation to resume while the negotiations for a new lease took place.

Stewart told National Review, “We stand corrected that it is the FNM government and that it is not this government” that negotiated the lease.

He added, “Having discovered that now and having that verified it’s a far more horrendous position that the Bahamian people find themselves in than we had ever imagined. Our research department just gave the daily cost on the world market.”

Myers, the Sandy Cay president, provided an invoice showing that one of his latest shipments had a cost of $12.50 per metric ton.

Asked whether the coalition has taken into consideration that aragonite has significant add-on value after it is processed by U.S. companies that buy from Ocean Cay, Stewart said, “We recognize that there are layers of costs and pricing, but world market price first cost, our research department has discovered that $900 is a figure.”

After further questions from National Review, Stewart also admitted that the coalition never reached out to Sandy Cay to ask questions on what the company is doing or how much it sells aragonite for.

Incredibly, he also admitted that the coalition has not had conversations with the government over a matter it has been making so many demands about.

After it was explained to him that the lease is not up for renewal, Stewart said the government could still act in the interest of the Bahamian people.

“We feel that the government is the influential bargaining agent that can influence or with the stroke of a pen change these arrangements,” said Stewart, insisting the coalition has “professional research”.

He added, “The Bahamian aragonite is the most sought after aragonite in the world because it is of the highest quality.”

Further explaining why the coalition has acted without reading the current lease for aragonite harvesting that exists, Stewart said, “The whole issue with regard to our natural resources has been a private issue in the Office of the Prime Minister.

“Facts are not easy to come by, and for us to have gotten this far, I think we have done a yeoman’s job. And in fact, one must remember that we are operating without the Freedom of Information Act.

“Once we have that it wouldn’t be like pulling teeth. And so, we have come this far by faith and we trudge on ahead in seeking to inform the Bahamian people.”

Irresponsible

We agree with Stewart on the need for the long-discussed Freedom of Information Act.

While we see wisdom in discussing the aragonite issue and whether the Bahamian people are getting what they deserve, we abhor discussions fuelled by misinformation, incomplete information and emotions.

This is counter productive to what those leading the cause might be seeking to achieve, and it may create disharmony.

The so-called facts being put in the public domain are fuelling hysteria and a great deal of confusion.

The coalition should be embarrassed that it is making claims in the absence of all the facts.

It is riling the emotions of the public although it has not read the aragonite lease.

It is speaking — by the admission of its chairman — based on an “assumption”.

This is highly irresponsible.

It has not spoken to the principal of the company harvesting aragonite.

It has not had discussions with the government on this matter.

Union President John Pinder trusted the “research” of the Bahamas National Citizens Coalition.

Pinder said revenue from increased aragonite royalties could be used to pay every Bahamian at least $50,000 within 18 months of adjusting the terms.

He said this could significantly drive down crime and bring prosperity for all Bahamians.

Pinder aligned his good name with what the coalition presented to him, and did so with the backing of both the police and prison staff associations.

We wonder if the coalition knows how easy it is to access the lease it has not seen.

We respectfully urge our fellow citizens to be careful how they accept information without doing their own research.

We have reported the results of our initial research into this matter.

We do not take the side of Sandy Cay, but it is important to give it a voice in this national debate and that is why we contacted its principal, Tony Myers.

It is why we asked him to allow us to see his company’s invoices.

Review

Last week, Minister of Environment Kenred Dorsett said successive governments have “not been aggressive” enough when negotiating royalties for aragonite.

He also said the former administration signed off on an aragonite royalty of $2 per metric ton, even though it initially wanted a figure of between $12 and $15.

The minister also suggested the deal is being reviewed.

“We are looking at those issues to make sure the people get what they are entitled to in terms of their fair share of the revenue associated with extracting those natural resources.”

Dorsett advised that a Cabinet sub-committee was formed a few months ago to address this matter.

It is clear that the government should play a stronger role in bringing a more temperate approach to this debate.

We make no statement on whether the government is getting fair royalties.

If in fact there is a review taking place, we hope, and we assume that the government is making use of its scientific and technical experts to drive the process.

Clearly, there is also a need for public education on this matter.

The government should make a full and clear statement, as opposed to ambiguous statements not thoroughly considered.

In driving this discussion, all involved should do so responsibly — the government, the media and civil society.

This matter has reached a point where the spread of misinformation has had a huge impact on many people now demanding the government renegotiate royalties.

In a democracy, agitation is good.

But in the absence of facts, it could be dangerous.

Its outcome can only be positive if it is done responsibly.

May 12, 2014

thenassauguardian

The Bahamas is believed to be the only country in the world that produces high quality oolitc aragonite in commercial volumes ...and studies suggest Bursus Cay has “an infinite amount”

Aragonite Developer Plans Factory Outside Port Area

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The manufacturing facility for a proposed $50 million aragonite mining project will be located on Grand Bahama outside the Port area, a spokesperson yesterday saying it was unclear whether Wednesday night’s Town Meeting was truly representative of local community opinion on the project.

Katherine Smith, the former FNM Senator and Atlanta consul-general who is acting as spokesperson for Nassau Island Development Company, said the firm was now awaiting a formal government response on how it should proceed with conducting its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

She added that the company had submitted its first documents to the Government two weeks ago, and Wednesday’s Town Meeting was designed to show the company’s transparency with regard to its plans.

Tribune Business sources said most persons speaking at the meeting voiced their opposition to the Nassau Island Development Company project, especially fishermen who felt its location - at Great Bursus Cay - would impact the area’s main fishing ground and their livelihood source.

K P Turnquest, the FNM MP for eastern Grand Bahama, expressed his unhappiness that 30-50 persons, who have no connection to the constituency, and appeared to include Urban Renewal workers, had been bussed in to attend it.

Among those attending the meeting, apart from Mr Turnquest, Senator Tanisha Tynes and former MP Ken Russell, was Michelle Reckley, the Government-appointed head of Urban Renewal in Freeport.

Mr Turnquest said his understanding was that the meeting was called to inform east Grand Bahama residents, who would be most affected, about the project and its likely impact.

“I couldn’t understand why they would load up the room with people who have no interest in the discussion,” Mr Turnquest told Tribune Business. “They were called and asked if they would come to the meeting. Somebody provided the bus.”

Emphasising that he was not accusing the developers of providing the bus service, and being responsible for their presence, Mr Turnquest said some had come from communities such as Eight Mile Rick, and added: “I couldn’t understand why they were there.”

Summing up the meeting, the MP added: “It’s incumbent on the developer to do the EIA and the rest of the work, and prove that what they’re going to do is not going to destroy the livelihoods of people in the area..... They can’t come to us with a blank cheque. They can’t get to second base without first base.”

Mr Turnquest also called on Nassau Island Development Company to ensure that if the project did proceed it would have a training programme in place for east Grand Bahamians, and not have to import labour.

Ms Smith, meanwhile, said the developers “don’t know yet” whether the opinions voiced at the Town Meeting were representative of the local community. Apart from four fishermen, she said the others who spoke were Fred Smith QC and Joseph Darville of Save the Bays, and persons with “different interests”.

She added that Geoff Moxey of Phoenix Engineering, who has been hired to conduct Nassau Island Development Company’s EIA, had already completed “scoping” work at Bursus Cay.

A report on this had been sent to the Bahamas Environment, Science and Technology Commission (BEST), detailing the company’’s harvesting, dredging and construction works scope.

Ms Smith said Nassau Island Development Company was now waiting for BEST to respond to it and set out the parameters/framework for how the EIA is to be conducted.

Emphasising that the developers could not proceed without this, she told Tribune Business: “We’re awaiting a response from BEST to the scoping report. It doesn’t make sense for you to go out and do an EIA until BEST says this is what we want.

“We’re waiting on them to tell us, on the basis of the scoping report, what’s next.”

Emphasising that Nassau Island Development Company could mobilise within 90 days of receiving all necessary government approvals, Ms Smith corrected previous newspaper reports suggesting up to 800 jobs - 500 full-time, 300 construction - could be created.

While 300 construction jobs would be created at peak, this level would likely be trimmed by 50 per cent once the harvesting section would be completed, and full-time jobs will total 10-200.

Suggesting that Nassau Island Development Company’s total investment would likely be more than the previously announced $50 million, Ms Smith said the project offered the potential to diversify the economy, create new sources of foreign exchange, and boost entrepreneurship.

Apart from exporting aragonite, the developer also intends to use it to manufacture products at its own factory, and supply other Bahamas-based manufacturers wanting it.

“The owner of the company wants to locate it [the manufacturing plant] in east or west Grand Bahama, “ Ms Smith said.

Asked why Nassau Island Development Company was not seeking the incentives offered in the Port area, she replied: “We would expect we would have the Industries Encouragement Act, and get some concessions there.”

Apart from tropical play sand, Ms Smith said aragonite was used in agriculture and animal feed, and there were also possible applications for fisheries projects and conch farms.

Nassau Island Development Company believes the Bahamas is the only country in the world that produces high quality oolitc aragonite in commercial volumes, and its studies suggest Bursus Cay has “an infinite amount”.

“From what our studies have said to us, this is a continually regenerating and replenishing product, and that area can never be over-harvested,” Ms Smith told Tribune Business.

May 09, 2014

Tribune 242

The Aragonite Royalty Issue in The Bahamas

Environment Minister Ignores Union’s Request on Aragonite Exports

By Jones Bahamas:



Environment Minister Kenred Dorsett has rejected requests from the National Congress of Trade Unions Bahamas (NCTUB) to renegotiate the royalties the country receives from aragonite mining and also denied allegations that the country has approved aragonite mining near East Grand Bahama.

While speaking to reporters outside of Cabinet yesterday Minister Dorsett brushed off the union’s suggestion for the government to review the agreement for aragonite export which reportedly now sees the government receiving $2 per metric ton to increase it to $350 per metric ton.

“We’re not following the union’s direction, I’ve spoken in parliament on this matter, on the fact that we are now moving to create the national resources unit in my ministry I have spoken about salt, I have spoken about aragonite, I’ve spoken about oil, all of our extractive natural resources and the people of The Bahamas getting through the government fair compensation for the exploitation of those resources so this is nothing new,” he said.

“With respect to aragonite we are looking at the entire legislative framework because the existing legislation that is on the books which is quite dated was an approval for a specific company to carry out the undertaking in the absence of comprehensive environmental regulations governing the activity so were looking at the entire sector.”

Moving forward, Minister Dorsett said the government will use other countries as a benchmark to consider the best ways advance the industry.

Minister Dorsett also took the time to address claims that the government gave approval to a local developer to mine aragonite near East Grand Bahama.

“My colleague, the minister responsible for Grand Bahama has indicated that certain statements were made at a recent meeting in East Grand Bahama that may possibly give the impression that the government has approved aragonite mining activity on Burses Cay, I want to set the record straight in that regard,” he said.

“No such approval has been given by the government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.”

According to Mr. Dorsett, the Nassau Island Development Company submitted an application to the government to mine aragonite on Burses Cay, however he said it is only under review.

He added that if any decision is made, the protection of the environment will remain a top priority.

During a press conference in Rawson Square earlier this week, the NCTUB president urged the government to renegotiate the amount of royalties the country receives from the export of aragonite.

According to Mr. Pinder while the country currently receives only $2 per metric ton, it is sold at $900 dollars per ton by the Billingham Dredging Corporation.

Mr. Pinder said the country is projected to reap $4.2 billion annually if royalties are received no less than $350 dollars.

Aragonite is a specific form of calcium carbonate sand. It is used to produce, cement, glass containers, soil and agricultural lime.

May 09, 2014

Jones Bahamas