Aaron Samson, project director for the proposed liquefied national gas plant (LNG) plant at Ocean Cay near Bimini said at a town meeting last night at the British Colonial Hilton Hotel that the important thing is the way in which AES has responded to environmental incidents.
“AES is a big company and we have 30 plus thousand employees around the world. We do have an exceptional environmental record but we are not an infallible company,” he said.
“We have people and people make mistakes and procedures are not always perfect,” he added.
His admission followed a question from veteran journalist Nicki Kelly.
Mrs. Kelly said that she had a list of environmental infringements on the part of AES in California, Connecticut, Florida, Maine and Oklahoma.
She asked Mr. Samson how he would address those complaints.
Mr. Samson insisted that the safety record of the LNG industry was a tremendously good one.
“There’s never been a cargo of LNG lost in the world,” he said.
Mr. Samson said that one of the company’s goals is to develop the local economy through job creation and services.
He indicated that 40 to 45 jobs would become available but those jobs would require special training and expertise which he said his company would provide.
He also said that at no time would there be more than five expatriates working full-time at the site.
The proposed $650 million project is geared towards servicing the needs of South Eastern Florida and if approved by the government could generate $15 million to $20 million in revenue annually.
LNG executives say they wish to establish a plant in The Bahamas because they claim there is no suitable location in Florida. “To find a site that gives you the security, the exclusion zones, the buffer, the deep water port any where near the market we are trying to serve on the coast of Florida is just not possible,” Mr. Samson said. “There’s just not a piece of real estate in Florida where this could be done and deemed acceptable.”
The proposal also includes the running of a $160 million pipeline from Ocean Cay, a man-made island established on the Bahama bank in the 1970s for aragonite mining.
Environmental Engineer Phenton Neymour raised concerns about a environmental impact assessment (EIA) report
“Will the EIA be made public for Bahamians to evaluate?,” he asked.
Trade and Industry Minister Leslie Miller said that once the Bahamas Environment Science and Technology (BEST) Commission completes its review of the EIA and the Cabinet makes a decision on the report when it is submitted, the report may be released for the public.
“It is probably going to take a few more months to be finalized and the Cabinet of The Bahamas obviously has to make a conscious decision on the report… I suppose that once that has been done, the government would have no problem in releasing the findings of the BEST Commission,” he said.
Mr. Miller said that the government has not yet made a definitive decision on LNG proposals.
“The government will grant no licence that will adversely affect the environment,” he assured.
By Julian Reid, The Bahama Journal
