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Governor John P. de Jongh, Jr. said Thursday that at his urging Environmental Protection Agency officials at the U.S. State Department have formally asked the government of the British Virgin Islands to stop polluting the air of St. John by burning trash in the open on neighboring
Tortola.
The U.S. State Department requested from United Kingdom and BVI officials that they immediately cease the practice of open rubbish burning at the Pockwood Pond incineration facility, and that they give full priority to a new facility that will responsibly handle the island’s waste disposal.
“Our friends in the British Virgin Islands must responsibly process their waste. It is unfair for the people of the U.S. Virgin Islands, specifically residents of St. John, to have their air quality diminished by the actions of a neighboring country,” the
governor said.
“As a good neighbor, the government of the British Virgin Islands has an obligation not to jeopardize the health of residents of St. John, as well as their own people,” the
governor added.
State Department officials encouraged BVI authorities to stockpile excess rubbish in a properly managed site on Tortola so as to make possible delayed incineration without open burning. They also proposed an alternative solution of setting up an interim solid waste disposal program until the new incinerator at Pockwood Pond is completed.
The communication between the two governments urges UK and BVI officials to install a new 100 ton per day incinerator plant to become operational by April of this year. To achieve that goal, they will have to designate the incinerator as a high-priority project, rather than postponing installation for several months as Governor Boyd McCleary indicated in a November letter to Judith Enck, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Regional Administrator.
On March 3, Governor de Jongh met with Enck at Government House on St. Croix to discuss the territory’s environmental issues and concerns, including complaints from St. John residents about open trash burning on Tortola. At that meeting, the
governor emphasized the importance of continuing to press the issue upon the BVI government through diplomatic channels. In addition, at the request of the
governor, EPA installed air quality monitors on St. John. This is another initiative that Government House will continue to press with the BVI Premier.
EPA officials have already raised concerns about open trash burning directly with Tony Bates, Head of the Caribbean and Bermuda Section of the UK Overseas Territories Directorate in London, at a Feb. 8 meeting.
In the most recent communiqué, the State Department insists that the two governments communicate at least once a month about progress being made to solve the problem. The American diplomats have also offered to cooperate with the BVI government on either a local or Caribbean-wide solid waste management initiative—one that includes recycling and other environmentally-sound practices.
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