Investigations are ongoing to determine whether the Bahamas Electricity Corporation's (BEC) Clifton Pier Plant is the source of last week's oil spill in waters off southwestern New Providence, Environment Minister Kenred Dorsett said yesterday.
However, he noted that there are several other private companies that could very well be contributing to the "extraordinary" amount of fuel that was recently sighted.
In a communication in the House of Assembly, Dorsett reported that the government's response team and environmental consultants yesterday inspected all of the relevant properties, including BEC's Clifton Pier Plant.
He added that once investigations are complete, "... No one is going to be off the hook when it comes to doing what is right. Whether it is BEC or private stakeholders."
While not placing the blame on BEC, Dorsett revealed that BEC's containment booms at the Clifton Pier Plant have not been as effective as they should be.
"The BEC containment booms were not preventing all of the fuel emitted into the marine environment from spreading," he said. "It also appeared that fuel was being discharged from one of the outfalls."
Based on reports, Dorsett said a significant amount of oil washed ashore on Albany's beach and Stuart Cove's Dive Bahamas' marina on Saturday.
However, Dorsett said initial reports indicate that Stuart Cove's officials discovered fuel in the canal area of their operation last Wednesday.
When asked by Long Island MP Loretta Butler -Turner what mitigation efforts the government intends to implement with regard to BEC, Dorsett said the government would take action.
"It is clear that those booms that were installed... were not containing all of the oil," he reiterated.
"So one of the things that the team is doing today (Monday) is assessing the possibility of putting in secondary containment booms and they will advise us on other strategies so that we ensure that we mitigate against any spreading of the oil in the environment which exists today.
"I do not want to make the representation in this House until we conduct the science to determine exactly where the oil is emanating from."
Dorsett added: "It's a huge industrial area. A lot of people use fuel and oil in that area. And to use the term of my technical team, the oil is like a cocktail with different mixtures.
"Once it is assessed, you can determine what it is made of. Some of it, more than likely, will be BEC. But I'm not excluding the fact that others may have contributed as well."
Dorsett acknowledged the presence of oil in southwestern New Providence is a long-time issue that has spanned over the last two decades.
"This is a huge problem which impacts our marine life, tourism and our environment," he said.
The government has retained international consultants from Coastal Systems International Inc., which is a U.S. environmental firm.
Dorsett said Coastal arrived in the country yesterday to assist in investigating and confirming the source or sources of the oil spill, assess the impact, address the mitigation of the spill, advise on the preparation of an environmental management plan for the area and make remediation recommendations to the government.
Members of the National Oil Spill Advisory Committee are also looking into the oil spill.

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