Pressure group slams ‘farcical’ clean air consultation
A pressure group has branded the consultation process for the first update to clean air laws in more than 30 years a “sham”.
The Bermuda Clean Air Coalition said it had not been consulted despite submitting a comprehensive 89-page document with its feedback in September.
It was formed in 2019 to press for the modernisation of the island’s Clean Air Act 1991, while representing the interests of the neighbours of Belco, who had been subject to excessive emissions from the plant.
The Clean Air Amendment Bill 2024 was tabled for MPs last week and is due to be debated in the House of Assembly today.
In an opinion piece, the group said it believes clean air regulations should be tabled in unison with the legislation, that the air quality standards are not robust enough and that today’s vote on the Bill should be postponed.
Wayne Caines, the Belco president, said the power company had “worked diligently” to lessen the impact of the North Power Station on residents in the area since it was commissioned.
One resident in the BCAC opinion article today stated there had been soot fallout in the area as recently as this week.
Mr Caines said Belco took a phased approach to remedy the engines’ “low compression and combustion pressures” while still providing reliable power.
Steps included “shim installation, piston crown installation, governor setting changes, installation of dryer skids and changes to our engine start-up”, with details of these efforts on the Belco website.
He said the company’s occupational health, safety and environment team monitored and addressed community concerns.
Belco has tested more than 60 area water tanks for quality and sediment since 2020 using an independent third-party team.
Mr Caines said those test results were consistent with water quality across the rest of the island.
Belco management and OHSE staff were said to stay in regular contact with its neighbours and keep abreast of concerns.
The company said it had worked with engine manufacturers to improve performance and reduce environmental impacts.
Mr Caines said there had been 32 requests for compensation in the fourth quarter of this year, compared with 68 requests in Q4 2022.
He added: “This consistent reduction in requests reflects our ongoing efforts to address community concerns and improve our operations.”
Mr Caines stated the company welcomed proposed amendments to the Clean Air Act, which are up for debate today.
The BCAC also called for the “early retirement” of Walter Roban, the Minister of Home Affairs, “before more damage is done”.
Mr Roban told The Royal Gazette that the group forewent opportunities to meet him in person, assured that its document was reviewed and offered another meeting.
He said regulations usually followed legislation that makes provisions for them and that the Bill marked a significant step forward in modernising the Act, introducing harsher penalties and addressing emissions and nuisances such as soot falling on properties, notably since the commissioning of the North Power Station in 2020.
The BCAC said in a statement: “The Government's approach to public consultation has been nothing short of farcical.
“After initially allowing just three weeks for feedback in June, extended to six weeks only after intense public pressure, the Government has systematically ignored substantive input.
“BCAC spent the entire consultation period producing a comprehensive 89-page report, incorporating detailed analysis from international experts [Earth Forward Group] and scientists, yet received no response …
“While claiming to have consulted with certain groups, such as Belco and some individuals behind closed doors, they ignored BCAC's repeated requests for engagement.
“Now, with the legislation poised for passage this Friday, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources suddenly offers to meet with BCAC but after the vote — a cynical gesture that underscores their disregard for meaningful public input.”
Mr Roban countered: “They had a representative that submitted on their behalf and then came, in the second tranche of consultation, and submitted an 89-page report beyond the deadline but we took it.
“In the first tranche of consultation, we offered them in-person advisory; they never took it up. I had a duty to do that.
“All the other entities that are regulated under the Act took advantage of it.”
Speaking on the length of the consultation period, Mr Roban added: “We are a small jurisdiction, there is scope for there to be much more quality consultation in a shorter period of time.
“They [BCAC] had an expert technical group who represented them. They did have the benefit of experts to do it and I am glad they did.
“I did review their report. You will hear in the brief when I present it as to what was included. There were submissions in there that had to contribute to the final Bill.”
The BCAC said that to table the legislation without regulations “undermines public trust” but Mr Roban said that was standard practice.
The minister said: “The Act itself, once passed, empowers for the regulations to be established. That can only come legally after.
“We should have them for the opening session in the new year. The regulations were part of the consultation package that went out with the Bill.”
Existing regulations stand until the new ones are enforced, he said.
The BCAC said in its submission that it believed air quality standards should be more robust given that the power plant sits in a residential area.
The group maintained that where possible, more stringent World Health Organisation standards for emissions should be adopted over those of Britain, which it says have taken precedence in the amendment Act.
Mr Roban said: “We have taken UK and EU [European Union] standards and our standards will surpass all of that in most of what we put in place.
“I am not required to go for WHO standards; I go for what is feasible for Bermuda.
“We will have the robust monitoring and persons trained to assess any impact. That training is going on now.”
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