A Bahamian-owned company is slamming the Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) for its "archaic" treatment of the fuel spill on Eleuthera.
James McPhee, senior technician and project manager at Environmental Response Concepts (ERC), is no stranger to big jobs. The Nassau-based firm, specializing in environmental work and consulting, had previously served as one of the prime contractors for a big fuel spill at Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) earlier this year.
He told Guardian Business that the methods employed by BEC are archaic, ineffective and will ultimately cost the cash-strapped organization more money.
"We want to sensitize the public and prospective clients that spill response equipment of the highest standard is here locally," he explained. "The process they are employing now is too slow. They will never achieve the results desired. It'll be long, drawn out and more costly in the end."
The process McPhee is referring to is the use of a small vacuum device to slurp up the approximately 70,000 gallons of diesel spilled near Rock Sound after an apparently heist gone wrong. He said that the use of such devices are better used in a residential bathroom, rather than a massive diesel spill with financial and environmental implications.
Leslie Miller, the chairman of BEC, told Guardian Business that the Department of Environmental Health was "dealing with that". He said it is that department's job to decide on the tactics, while BEC would simply "foot the bill".
"The gentleman who is doing it, he has a company that has been around. He used to work for BEC at some point," he explained. "The Department of Environmental Health is supervising his work. I don't know how it is done, to be honest with you."
Michael Moss, former chairman of BEC, said he has "serious doubts on their capacity to recover" all 70,00 gallons of diesel.
Using the current equipment employed, McPhee argued that a maximum of five gallons could be collected at a time. Heavy-duty machinery, by contrast, could handle 210 gallons per minute.
He called some staff at BEC "less than incompetent" on certain issues.
"We could ship our equipment to the site and start the process. They aren't going to save money on what they are doing, because it is going to drag on," he said. "We're not saying the contractor isn't qualified. We're saying that the methodology is wrong. At this rate, it is going to cost BEC close to $1 million. You cannot achieve the desired goal with their methodology."
McPhee also expressed concern on the health and well-being of a worker cleaning up the spill, who has been pictured without gloves or protective clothing in the middle of a diesel pond.
Neil McKinney, president of the Bahamas National Trust, said that his organization has not been contacted at any point during the investigation.
He said both the Eleuthera incident and the Eugenia oil spill in Grand Bahama were serious "wake up calls" on the country's need to have proper companies and regulations in place.
Last Tuesday, an apparent theft in Rock Sound resulted in 70,000 gallons or more of diesel being spilled. Miller said that it likely occurred after someone attached a hose and tried to syphon off fuel into a 20,000 gallon tank.
The tank allegedly overflowed once it was left unattended by the thief.
Moss, the former chairman of BEC, noted that the plant should be staffed 24 hours per day and an inside job has emerged as a distinct possibility.
An investigation into the incident is ongoing.

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