Support is steadily growing for an online petition that seeks to gain compensation for Marathon residents impacted by a Rubis gas station fuel spill more than two years ago. The petition also calls on Rubis and the government to evacuate residents impacted by the spill and test them.
Yesterday evening, the petition had 400 signatures. Hosted by www.change.org, the petition was created by Ted Forbes, an Old Trail Road resident, three weeks ago.
Forbes has repeatedly complained about the lack of information provided on the spill since 2013.
"Rubis Bahamas service station in the area of the Marathon constituency has leaked thousands of gallons... of [gasoline] into nearby surrounding areas within close proximity to dozens of residential homes and businesses," Forbes claimed on the site. He said the residents are seeking to hold Rubis accountable, not only in regard to its cleanup duties, but also the safeguarding of Marathon residents and its financial duties to them.
Forbes said while residents are being told they are safe, officials have advised against them using ground water. At a press conference several weeks ago, a consultant for Rubis said the information contained in the 2014 report on a Rubis gasoline leak is now outdated and does not reflect the latest testing and other remediation efforts undertaken by the company.
ARCADIS Principal Engineer/Vice President Jorge Ramirez said the consultants from Black & Veatch did not conduct tests of air or water. He said the report was based on data from ARCADIS and other sources.
Rubis said it engaged ARCADIS, an international consulting firm, days after the spill was discovered at its Robinson Road station on January 19, 2013. Forbes said the government must also be held accountable for its "dereliction of its duties to the health and safety of the residents of Marathon" when it chose to sit on a consultants report into the spill for more than a year.
Dozens of the people who signed the petition claim to be Marathon residents. The spill occurred in the Marathon constituency in late 2012/early 2013, according to Black & Veatch. The government received the report in February 2014. It was released to the public on April 17, 2015, a day after outraged residents expressed their disapproval that it had been withheld.
Black & Veatch concluded that the spill posed health risks to residents and people who work near the Rubis gas station on Robinson Road.
On May 3, the government released a statement expressing "sincere regret" for delaying the release of the report by Black & Veatch. It said an initial analysis of the report's release revealed that "poor coordination and administration led to the delay". After apologizing for the delay, the government moved to investigate the cause of the delay.
Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson announced that the government appointed retired Justice Joseph Strachan to conduct the review.
"In fulfillment of its promise, the government of The Bahamas is taking the necessary measures to ensure that there are no future delays in the lawful release of important reports to Bahamians," Maynard-Gibson said. She added, "The review is intended to ensure that the processes to support future investigations and enquiries conducted in the public interest are managed according to international best practices, as well as to ensure timely disclosure when these reports are going to be made public."
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