Environmental studies should have been carried out before a SDO for Tucker’s Point was presented to legislators, according to the Bermuda Environmental Sustainability Taskforce (BEST).The group recently reiterated criticisms of Government’s handling of the SDO, or special development order, which was the subject of a special report by the Ombudsman Arlene Brock.The Ombudsman found that there was a collective failure on the part of civil servants to ensure Bermuda met its international legal obligation to carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).In a statement, the organisation said: “During the public discussion that was taking place on the Tucker’s Point SDO, BEST continually raised the issue that the SDO was being granted in principle by both houses of the legislature of Bermuda without the benefit of an EIA process to support the decision.“In doing so, the legislature was forced by Government to act contrary to the agreed upon guiding principles for the UK Government and Government of Bermuda.“Once this had taken place, as the Ombudsman points out in her report, no matter how flawed the legislature’s decision was later found to have been, it would have then been awkward for the Development Applications Board (DAB) to overturn the in-principle approval already granted by the legislature.“Without the benefits of a timely EIA, the legislature was deprived of information it needed to make an informed decision and, consequently, the public interests were poorly served.”