St. Maarten’s smoking dump continues to be in the news. The no-longer-so-sanitary landfill was way oversaturated already for years and things got progressively worse after Hurricane Irma.
The adjacent special so-called “Irma dump” had to be created due to the sheer volume of debris and trash left by the super storm, but that second “baby landfill” was soon pretty much out of control too, with frequent fires of its own.
There is some relief on the horizon, as a grant agreement is expected to be signed with the World Bank managing the Recovery and Resilience Trust Fund next week for a US $25 million Emergency Debris Management project that includes extinguishing the subsurface fires. Working there has already been determined an occupational hazard requiring added health and safety measures.
Air measurements to assess the risk in neighbouring communities will be done by the Dutch Institute for Public Health and the Environment come January. Further monitoring is to follow before, during and after the fire suppression activities.
Government announced a survey in and possible temporary relocation from the most affected residential areas. A tender process for the site’s new management has started as well.
Litigants in the related court case by citizens in which the Prosecutor’s Office joined were happy to hear about these developments and that money is finally being made available to tackle the most urgent problem. They remain concerned that the World Bank’s strict rules and guidelines may cause delays in practice, “such as tendering a bulldozer,” although its involvement does give them more hope for a sound and sustainable solution.
To make sure both government and World Bank understand the urgency of the situation and absolute need to address it expeditiously, plaintiffs plan to keep up the legal pressure, with a next hearing scheduled for March 29 that may include a visit to the landfill. They are hereby encouraged to do just that.
