Dumping of sewerage in sea must be stopped urgently - Hon Pickering
The Deputy Premier and Minister for Natural Resources said the Virgins Islands will face a major problem if the dumping of waste water into the sea is not stopped urgently and in the very near future. This, he said, has the likelihood of creating a major problem which can result in major destruction of the coral reefs, a situation which has hit neighbouring US Virgin Islands.
Dr. Pickering said it is a problem that is currently hitting the attention of international eyes. "Strange as it might seem to you all, the US Virgin Islands is now one of the worse places in the entire Caribbean in respect to the coral reefs because the reefs have been over fished and because of the problem of waste water being dumped continually dumped into the sea."
He said it a situation that looms over the head of the VI because of the dumping of waste water into the sea, a situation he said the National Democratic Party (NDP) is not taking lightly. "We have to make sure that we take steps at this critical juncture to ensure that we stop that degradation. As a government we are working diligently to ensure that the continual pumping of water from our sewerage into the ocean is stopped," said Hon. Pickering.
According to the minister, because of the looming crisis in the fishing industry, himself and Minister for Communications and Works Honourable Mark H. Vanterpool has been speaking about addressing the issue of sewerage disposal in short order. "The work is going to resume because we cannot continue to do that," related Hon. Pickering.
Holding Tanks on Yachts a must
The problem of sewerage being dumped into the sea is also to be addressed at the level of the yachting industry to ensure that all vessels are equipped with holding tanks. "Somebody said that it looks like now there are more Yachts than people."
He added, "We have to ensure that every yacht or every boat that traverses here for pleasure or other purposes, that they have holding tanks. That has to be done by legislation, but we as a government have to do our part also. We can't expect the yachts to have holding tanks and they don't have anywhere to deposit when the tanks are full."
This he said would necessitate a situation where the sewerage system is in place, active and operating at optimal level. "And then we can legislate to say that the yachts have got to ensure they have holding tanks and you cannot deposit within certain places..." said Hon. Pickering.
He noted, however, that fishermen have their part to play by making the issues talking points amongst themselves. "It does not affect your livelihood only but it affects us as a nation as a whole because you can't get fish if there is no fish. So all of these things are interconnected so that is why I say that we've got to manage these issues before they manage us."
The issue of dumping of waste water from the sewerage into the ocean was also raised by Third District Representative Hon. Julian Fraser RA during a recent exclusive interview with Virgin Islands News Online.
13 Responses to “Dumping of sewerage in sea must be stopped urgently - Hon Pickering”
This is why for years these yachters never obeyed..they never had to; Good friends in government who know and in some cases advocate for these laws but allowed kindred friendship to prevent true applicability as specified by law.
Good luck there there now good Docter.
I think in this case , aryo is a day late and a penny short!!!