Toxics in Samana?

[Andy B]

2Samana2,

If you knew that I was not just "a drive by witness" but the creator of several of Samana's biggest websites and a MAJOR promoter of tourism and a former journalist-TV anchorman, you would not question the veracity of my eyewitness account. And if you would understand English better, you would realize that all I reported was what I saw and how I interpreted the same. And if you further doubt my credibility, understand that not only do I live in Samana but I have a financial stake in its future and do not appreciate anybody crying wolf without proof of what they are saying.

Also, let it be known that if this material DOES prove to be toxic, NO ONE will protest louder than I.

[Andy B]

The photo accompanying the listin.com article referred to by Jay Pedro is of Ramiro "Negrito" Espinal, our senator and not Governor Amada Manzueta. These look like the people that were at the top of the hill when we drove up yesterday. If I had known that "Negrito" was there I would have had a chat with him at the time about all this.

[Hillbilly]

I was reading the paid notice by René Ledesma in the Hoy today. I know René and he is a pretty sharp shooter.

Here is my take: While he was out of the country, an underling signed the permits to off load this stuff. Here is the key issue: NO MATTER WHAT THIS STUFF IS, NO MATTER HOW TOXIC OR NON-TOXIC IT IS, IT IS ILLEGAL TO DUMP ANY WASTE IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. THAT IS THE LAW.

Now, faced with the reality of having screwed the pooch, they have to come up with sufficient justifications to cover whoever's a$$ that really gave the go ahead on this deal.

Ledesma is a PhD from Gainsville, and he is no slouch, so my bet is that he is covering out of loyalty and making the best of this. As I said before, if this stuff is so innocent, why not leave it in Puerto Rico???

HB

[2samana2]

Originally Posted by Hillbilly

NO MATTER WHAT THIS STUFF IS, NO MATTER HOW TOXIC OR NON-TOXIC IT IS, IT IS ILLEGAL TO DUMP ANY WASTE IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. THAT IS THE LAW.

HB

My sentiments exactly!

I will NOT accept, Samana to became the "Garbage dump of the Caribbean", for the benefit of the few corrupt officials, and a few more voices should be add to mine, take action and call for the removal of the sludge and send it back to P.R.

2s2

[mountainfrog]

@ HB
Señor, you know much better than I that breaking the law in this country need not necessarily have consequences.
No tengo la culpa, seems to be among the first words a Dominican learns to speak.
In case there was bribe money given to get this stuff dumped in Samaná, there surely won´t be any money to get it back to where it came from.

@ 2s2
Strong words.
Let´s see whether they are strong enough to move even one grain of that darn material.

M´frog

[Keith R]

Originally Posted by Hillbilly

I was reading the paid notice by René Ledesma in the Hoy today. I know René and he is a pretty sharp shooter.

Here is my take: While he was out of the country, an underling signed the permits to off load this stuff. Here is the key issue: NO MATTER WHAT THIS STUFF IS, NO MATTER HOW TOXIC OR NON-TOXIC IT IS, IT IS ILLEGAL TO DUMP ANY WASTE IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. THAT IS THE LAW.

Now, faced with the reality of having screwed the pooch, they have to come up with sufficient justifications to cover whoever's a$$ that really gave the go ahead on this deal.

Ledesma is a PhD from Gainsville, and he is no slouch, so my bet is that he is covering out of loyalty and making the best of this. As I said before, if this stuff is so innocent, why not leave it in Puerto Rico???

HB

Thanks HB. I remember the law from the 1980s, but not all its details, and since I only have a print copy back in Virginia, could not access it here in Buenos Aires. So in my prior statement I was going purely on what the framework environment law and the specific implementing regulation on wastes say, and neither indicate a blanket ban. I wonder then, which would prevail in a court of law? Only our lawyer friends can untangle that one....

Not only is there prior DR law to consider, HB, but there's also the Basel Convention, to which the DR has been a Party since Oct. 2000 and the US signed but never ratified, so is not. [In such treaty matters, the US acts on behalf of PR unless stating otherwise upon signing.] Article 4, para. 5 says:

5. A Party shall not permit hazardous wastes or other wastes to be exported to a non-Party or to be imported from a non-Party.

Even if the US was, this shipment would still fall afoul of Article 4, para 9:

9. Parties shall take the appropriate measures to ensure that the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes and other wastes only be allowed if:

(a) The State of export does not have the technical capacity and the necessary facilities, capacity or suitable disposal sites in order to dispose of the wastes in question in an environmentally sound and efficient manner; or

(b) The wastes in question are required as a raw material for recycling or recovery industries in the State of import; or

(c) The transboundary movement in question is in accordance with other criteria to be decided by the Parties, provided those criteria do not differ from the objectives of this Convention.

There's no way anyone in PR or DR can claim (a), and so far I have heard no one official claim applicability of (b) or (c). Even they claimed (c), they would have to show how their "other criteria" did not conflict with the objectives of the Convention, which would be veeerrrrryyyy difficult to do.

For any interested in reading the Convention, it's English text can be found at http://www.basel.int/text/con-e.htm and the Spanish text at http://www.basel.int/text/con-s.htm

Your Environment Forum Moderator

[Keith R]

Originally Posted by mountainfrog

@ HB

In case there was bribe money given to get this stuff dumped in Samaná, there surely won´t be any money to get it back to where it came from.

M´frog

Actually, mountainfrog, as I understand it (I am not a lawyer, just a guy who deals alot with waste law) under international law if it can be shown that the shipment was done illegally -- whether under false pretenses or in violation of the laws or the exporting or importing State -- the exporting party (in this case, AES), must take back the shipment and pay fully for doing so.
Your Environment Forum Moderator,
trying to sound like a JD

[Keith R]

As many times as I have witnessed or heard of such things happening in the DR, it never ceases to sadden me to hear of yet another case, particularly those in beautiful areas of such importance to the tourism sector such as Juan Dolio and Samana.

But I am quite heartened to learn that people in the DR are finally getting mad about it and organizing to oppose such abuses. I welcome in this Forum any reporting of such problems as long as it does not degenerate into pure rumor-mongering, smear campaigns and soapboxing without substance.

Your Environment Forum Moderator

[tochel]

breaking the law will have consequences!
for landesma and all who are involved!!!
you will see!

[vicdj]

Click on the picture in this article to enlarge it...

Picture

Vic

Originally Posted by Andy B

Torchel,
Several posts before in this thread I reported that I passed by the port (Arroyo Barril) recently as I do every week or so and I have not seen any piles of anything (and only on occassion, a freighter tied up to the pier). For a while there was some old construction debris on the pier near the passenger facility (the debris had been there for several years). You reported some 50 tons of this has been deposited in the port. That's the equivalent of about 50 dump trucks full and that makes a hell of a big pile of sand. Have you seen this yourself? If so tell us.

I will visit the port in the next day or so and I will report my observations.