By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

THE Old Navy Base cove in Exuma will remain closed until August 10 as workers clean up the remaining diesel from the water and prepare to remove sand for further testing.

Dr Rhianna Neely-Murphy, director of the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP), said at the Office of the Prime Minister’s weekly Press Conference that the Old Navy Base cove in Exuma is “almost back to normal” as the clean-up crews from last week’s oil spill continue working around the clock to clear the cove of the remaining diesel.

Dr Neely-Murphy also said: “Sand is also being removed from the site, we had some boreholes placed last night to determine if and where we had diesel that would have breached the sand bar onto the sand. We did find diesel, so we're going to start the activity of removing the sand from the site as well. And that is, of course, as a result of the wave action.”

She continued, “So today, most of the product has been actively removed and the beach is looking closer to normal than it did on Wednesday. It's not back to normal, but progress is being made and the beach is going to remain closed until August 10, when we would conduct another assessment to determine whether or not to safeguard the public's use.”

Wednesday's diesel spill was contained quickly and within two days more than 80 percent of the spill that washed into the cove was removed with no further spillage downstream to adjacent coves and bays.

The environmental damage is still being quantified as well as blame being assessed. “We're looking into the government's options with respect to damages and liability. And once those investigations have been completed, then we will be advised to pursue damages,” Dr Neely-Murphy said.

She added: “According to the legislation, there are options for just illegal discharge and then there are fines. The Sun Oil and the companies involved would have to pay for any and all remediation activities that the government would have paid for up until this point and those moving into the future, so those will be court matters.”

At best, Sun Oil and the companies involved would face a maximum fine of $20,000 as per the DEPP Act, 2019, if found in breach of the law.

The DEPP is also still quantifying the level of the damage and expenses already incurred by the government, but estimates from people involved on the ground range from $20,000 to $30,000 having been already spent, inclusive of pumping equipment, Bobcat logistics, trailer use, carrying the diesel back to the Sun Oil Limited ship and manpower. By the end of the cleanup the figure could be nearer to $60,000 if the efforts stretch to another three full days.

Dr Neely-Murphy also said: “We are still in the initial phases of the assessment so I wouldn't want to be reckless and give you any kind of a number. But as soon as the numbers become available, we will advise.”

The long-term effect on the ecosystem is clear as the country’s marine resources are vital, particularly in the Family Islands and there are numerous microorganisms that live in the sand and near the shoreline.

“The sand, of course, will have to be removed and treated and if not treated, disposed of at the landfill or to another facility,” Dr Neely-Murphy said.

“We haven't noticed any coral reef and the seagrass or anything of that nature in the area, I haven't gotten any reports yet of any bird life or mammals that will have been impacted.

“So in that regard, we are a bit lucky that this was a very small cove and that the wave action was able to contain it in that area and we were able to use the oil-spill technology to continue to contain it and have as little negative impacts on the environment as a diesel spill could.”