Published On: Tuesday, January 19, 2010

EDITOR, The Tribune.

While perusing the EIA for the Wilson City power plant, I came across yet another major cause for concern - as if there weren't enough already.

Near the beginning of the EIA we are told, "...the site is located outside of the Marsh Harbour-Lake City Aquifer." (P. 3-11). This is would be good news if it were true, as this aquifer supplies all the water for MarshHarbour and surrounding communities. However, later on we are told, "Cooling water extracted via boreholes is readily available at the site. This cooling water will then be discharged to the brine zone beneath the Marsh Harbour-Lake City Aquifer using a new effluent discharge injection well." (P. 7-3). The writers obviously realize this is not such a great idea, because they go on to say, "Additional training is recommended to educate facility operators of the sensitivity of the underlying aquifer and the importance the protection of this resource is to the people of Abaco. Under no circumstances should untreated contaminated waste water be permitted to be discharged via the injection well." (P. 7-3).

Well, I'm sure we can trust BEC to do the additional training and to make sure no contaminated water gets into the injection well, right? Apparently not. In another part of the EIA, we are told, "...disposal wells for both the Clifton Pier and Blue Hills station, through which oily wastewater are disposed, were found to be without routine monitoring. Observations ... indicated that all injection wells were found to have traces of sludge in them. ... the deep injection well at Station-A was filled with oil sludge apparently 150-200 feet in depth." (P. 6-5 and 6-6).

There are other details about "oil sludge one to two feet deep" (P. 6-5) in the bund (which at Wilson City is only planned to be 3.5 feet high), and sludge leaking through holes in the bund and a grid in the base of the bund connected to the rainwater drainage system. In Nassau, this sludge "found its way into a cave". (P. 6-5). On Abaco, it will be finding its way directly into our only water supply.

It would be ironic if we ended up with more power than we can use and absolutely no usable water.

ALISON BALL

Abaco,

January, 2010.