The searing hot topic for St. Thomas residents this weekend seemed to be the agreement signed between the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority and Alpine Energy Group to purchase and burn petroleum coke as part of the process in the waste to energy facilities to be constructed on St. Thomas and St. Croix.
The V.I. Conservation Society and the V.I. Ratepayers Association have filed a petition with the Virgin Islands Public Services Commission for reconsideration of its approval of Alpine Energy Group’s power purchase and interconnection agreement with WAPA. To build momentum for the petition, Paul Chakroff, managing director of the St. Croix Environmental Association, Jason Budsan, president of the V.I. Conservation Society, and Clarence Payne, president of the V.I. Ratepayers Association, spoke to members of Environmental Association of St.Thomas (EAST), residents of the Bolongo Bay area, and residents of the Bovoni area in three separate meetings.
EAST members met Saturday afternoon at Emerald Beach and discussed the petition as part of their regular meeting. The Bolongo Bay residents, including residents of Sea Cliff Villas, Regatta Point Villas, and Watergate Villas, met Sunday afternoon at the Bolongo Bay Beach Resort. The Bovoni Homeowners Association also met Sunday afternoon at the Mount Calvary Missionary Baptist Church.
The concerns among residents at all three meetings seemed to be similar, namely the absence of public notification regarding the PSC hearing and a lack of public information regarding the proposed facilities, the potential cost to the ratepayers for the purchase of pet coke, and the pet coke burning process itself.
“My concern is with the way this seemed to be pushed through without anybody knowing,” said Pam Balash, a resident of Bolongo Bay for 27 years. “Whether it’s burning garbage or burning pet coke, we don’t need any more toxins coming our way.”
“I’d feel happier with a nuclear reactor over here,” another person at the meeting said.
Chakroff, while speaking to Bolongo residents, said, “Our immediate goal is to slow down the process long enough to consider all of our options. There are some solutions that are economically viable”
He said he would like an open discussion, with WAPA’s Commissioner Hugo Hodge Jr. alongside him.
Payne stressed that they “want to work with Alpine to figure out solutions.”
The more than fifty Bovoni residents who came out for Sunday’s meeting fear further contamination in that area and the potential health threats involved, in part because they have had to deal with the fallout from toxins burning at the dump and the ensuing ash covering their homes and making breathing difficult in the past.
As part of the petition filed with the PSC, petitioners are requesting that public meetings be held and that the PSC place ads informing the public of those meetings.
Hodge, in an interview earlier this week, said WAPA plans to conduct an educational campaign for the public regarding the agreement with the Alpine Energy Group.
Residents interested in learning more about the petition can contact Chakroff at pchakroff.atsea@gmail.com.
