By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

OFFICIALS from the Sandyport Development Company yesterday insisted that a crack in the bulkhead of a Rubis (Bahamas) fuel line positioned at the rear-eastern side of the Sandyport marina was the source of a feared fuel leak first reported last week.

SDC President Garth Buckner alleged that the crack, originally spotted by a resident, was in fact the source of the fuel leak that many in the community reported to environmental officials on Thursday.

According to Mr Buckner, shortly after his office was notified, SDC representatives met with the resident that discovered the leak to verify its exact location.

“Gas was seen seeping out of the bulkhead about one-third of the way down from the northern point of the eastern side of the marina dock near where the supply line runs to the pipe,” he stated.

“This was most visible at low tide and when gas was being pumped.”

Mr Buckner indicated that a letter was then written to Rubis informing the station that under the SDC’s covenants of the development, the pump had to be turned off.

He claimed that Rubis responded the same day in writing acknowledging receipt of the letter and the shutting down of the pump.

“We spoke with personnel from Environmental Health on Friday and they came to inspect,” said Mr Buchner. He added that both Rubis and Environmental Health officials were on site over the weekend conducting pressure tests and inspection on the pump.

Rubis has never confirmed the existence of a leak at their Sandyport service station.

When contacted about Mr Buckner’s claims yesterday, Managing Director of Rubis Gordon Craig said he could not comment at this time.

When The Tribune visited the station last Friday, a Rubis employee indicated that the company was looking into the matter, but was in the preliminary stages of its investigation.

That employee added that the company had not come across any fuel in or around the Sandyport canal.

None of the Sandyport business owners contacted by the Tribune at that time reported smelling fumes or seeing fuel in the canal.

However, on Monday The Tribune was told that Rubis informed Mr Buchner and his team that the company would empty its fuel line of any residual gas.

On Sunday, Mr Craig insisted that the company was doing everything to correct the matter but never confirmed that a leak was discovered.

He stated that once notified, representatives from Rubis were dispatched to the Sandyport site, shutting down the station’s pumps and carrying out extensive testing at the site.

“There were no issues or leaks observed at the time,” was all Mr Craig offered when pressed for confirmation of the matter.

“We went through all the necessary protocols and concluded that whatever issues existed, it wasn’t as a result of Rubis. “However, beyond that, we will continue to monitor the situation in the coming days,” he added at the time.

When asked yesterday if Rubis had not only acknowledged the fuel leak, but accepted responsibility for it, Mr Buchner responded: “At this point all involved are working to ascertain the facts. Environmental Health and Rubis will then take the necessary remedial steps to rectify the matter.

“Sandyport Development will not allow a problem of this type to continue within the community and we will insist that remedial action is taken,” he added.

“To date it appears that the responsible parties are acting.”

Rubis has been at the centre of controversy over its handling of a December 2012 fuel leak in the Marathon constituency.

According to the BEST Commission, the fuel release of 12,000 gallons of unleaded gasoline was observed in late December 2012 by operator Fiorente Management, and reported to Rubis on January 19, 2013.

However, area residents have maintained to The Tribune that they were kept in the dark for years over possible risks from the spill.

The government initiated an independent investigation into that spill and received a report in February 2014 about the matter. However, that report was withheld from the public for more than a year, causing some to accuse the government of trying to cover up the matter.