Consultant for Waterloo Project Responds to NGOs

Nextera Environmental and Engineering Consultant, Allan Herrera, has responded to a group of non-government organizations that wrote to him last week. The group of N.G.O.s had asked Herrera, the principal consultant for the Port of Belize Cruise Tourism Facility and Cargo Expansion, proposed by Waterloo Investment Holdings Limited, to point out the difference between two Environmental and Social Impact Assessments that the company has submitted for the project. The twelve N.G.O.s had asked for clarity on the terms being used, particularly as they relate to the location for the disposal of dredge spoils. The groups had also emphasized their position that dumping that material anywhere near or in the Caribbean Sea is bound to impact the Belize Barrier Reef System. Herrera, in his response, explained that the initial E.S.I.A. Report included offshore disposal of the dredged material as a sustainable placement method for that. He went on to say that while the company was sure the offshore disposal could have been carried out in an environmentally sound manner, they listened to the public’s concerns, abandoned that initial plan, and instead came up with another option of disposal, which Herrera describes in the letter as “an environmentally viable alternative to offshore placement through the use of an expanded near-shore disposal site within the project envelope,”. He also explained in his letter that the difference between the E.S.I.A.s is additional information that the National Environmental Appraisal Committee, N.E.A.C., had requested. The letter also provides highlights of the relevant sections where the new information can be found. On Thursday evening starting at six-thirty at the Belize Biltmore Plaza, a public consultation will be held on the project. Thereafter, the Department of the Environment will review written comments.