By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net 

AS parliamentarians passed a bill to introduce spot fines for environmental infractions yesterday, some complained about the Davis administration’s lack of transparency regarding penalties for those who have broken environmental laws.

The House of Assembly passed an amendment to the Environmental Protection and Planning Act, which introduces financial penalties of $1,000 to $20,000 for infractions related to damaging coral reefs, discharging hazardous substances and not complying with laws related to protected areas, among other things.

The fines would be deposited into the Environmental Administration Fund to restore the environment in The Bahamas, reduce pollution, and conserve natural resources.

Free National Movement MPs supported the bill. However, East Grand Bahama MP Kwasi Thompson highlighted the government’s lack of transparency concerning fines, which he said undermines efforts to deter other possible violators.

He noted the example of an oil spill in Exuma in 2022 involving The Arabian, a vessel Sun Oil contracted that was offloading fuel at the Old Navy Base in George Town when it spilled about 30,000 gallons of oil in the sea in July 2022.

Attorney General Ryan Pinder said the company was the first in the country ever to be fined for an environmental infraction, but he refused to disclose the penalty. 

“Penalty should be a deterrent,” Mr Thompson said yesterday. “How can there be a deterrent if the public does not know what the penalty is?

“If it is a fine under the act, what section were they charged under, and what justifies the amount they settled on? This is a public matter and must be made public in the interest of the public.”

FNM leader Michael Pintard also called for more transparency.

“We have had a number of very high-profile spills. It is also important that the government is transparent about how the work, how the remediation is taking place and, of course, what fines have been levied,” he said.

“This is not a negotiable issue. We should simply be transparent.” 

National Security Minister Wayne Munroe noted that consultation to create The Bahamas Wildlife Enforcement, an agency devoted to enforcing environmental laws, has been completed.