The government will spend up to $10 million to begin remediation work following several oil spills at Clifton, according to Prime Minister Perry Christie. After increased concerns about contamination at Clifton following several reported oil spills over the past several months, the government launched an investigation to determine the cause. While that investigation has not been completed, Christie said the government must act now.

"I advised my colleagues that the implication is a profound one when it comes down to damage... to the environment and the rights [of] people to swim in waters that are conducive to good health," he said during his address at the Atlantis Blue Project presentation at Atlantis, Paradise Island. "So, the government has made a decision to spend up to $10 million and bring in engineers to remediate all of that environmental degradation at Clifton Pier.

"We have hired a firm to put booms in place. We have hired a firm to extract the oil. "We have an engineering formulae that will cause concrete to be poured down to five-feet or 10-feet below sea level to create a catchment, and then for thousands of gallons of oil to be extracted. We cannot allow, whether BEC (Bahamas Electricity Corporation) is at fault or any other entity is at fault, to bring such damage to this country."

Christie said he met yesterday with the lead engineer of the foreign firm, which will carry out the remediation work. When asked for details about the firm, Christie said the work will be carried out by the foreign company and other Bahamian companies. In October, the government engaged consultants from Coastal Systems International Inc., a U.S. environmental firm, to determine the source of the recent oil spills and to recommend remedial clean up.

In a separate interview, Minister of the Environment Ken Dorsett said the government has engaged Morgan Oil Marine (Bahamas) Ltd. to extract oil that is underground at Clifton Pier. He said the government has contracted several other local companies on Grand Bahama and New Providence to place containment booms, Dorsett said. He also expounded on how the $10 million will be spent.

"The engineering work is ongoing for the construction of a wall 1,500-linear feet along the road out at Clifton that will be constructed based on preliminary assessment," he said. "The thought is that it will be three to five-feet below sea level. Then there will be another excavated trench that will be even deeper to create a catchment."

Dorsett said with the containment, extraction and other remedial efforts, both short-term and long-term, the government hopes to solve the 40 to 50 years of environmental degradation in that area. He said it will not happen overnight, but it "signifies the government's commitment to resolve this once and for all". He admitted that while the government has projections, a final cost has not been determined.

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