Edison Baird
P.O. Box 386
The Valley
Anguilla
Vincent Proctor
Secretary Land Development Control Committee c/o Department of Physical Planning
The Valley
Anguilla, BWI
October 2nd, 2013
Dear Sir,
I write to you in my capacity as the elected representative of the Road North Constituency #5 in the Anguilla House of Assembly. As you are aware, the Road Salt Pond is located in Sandy Ground which is part of my representative area.
I was shocked to learn that your committee will be meeting with the residents of my district “on Wednesday, October 9th at 6:00 pm at the Trinity Methodist Church in Sandy Ground.”
In light of the above, I make the following points: the public was only informed that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EPA) was available for public examination on September 30th, 2013, in the public library and the planning office. This was in the form of a radio announcement on Radio Anguilla.
This approach creates certain problems. Members of the public cannot remove the EPA and must sit and read it at the designated area. They cannot even photocopy it. The bottom line is that the public does not have meaningful access to the EPA study. They cannot inform themselves of its content and therefore cannot engage in any meaningful discussion or provide the committee with recommendations based upon an objective and critical analysis of it.
This approach by your committee contaminates the consultation process. It amounts to “hiding” the EPA, ironically, in the public domain. In addition, the notification time, regarding the availability of the EPA (30/09/13) and the scheduling of the meeting at Sandy Ground on the 9th October, 2013, create its own handicaps. The time allocated is hopelessly inadequate to read and comprehend the EPA.
The EPA is three hundred and ninety two pages (392) of a very highly technical nature authored by six persons with contributions from four others. Residents would need independent technical assistance to guide them through this document so that they can have a meaningful understanding of the EPA and its potentially serious implications for the village of Sandy Ground.
In light of the above, I recommend the following:
1. That the EPA be placed on the Government Website. This would enable Anguillians at home and abroad to fathom the import of this critical document.
2. That given the technical nature of the EPA, that the meeting scheduled for Sandy Ground on the 9th October, at 6:00 pm at the Methodist Church be postponed for six weeks. This is especially important in light of the point made in the Environment Charter for the UK Overseas Territories, signed by Anguilla and the British Government on the 26th September, 2001. It makes the point that Anguillians have the right to “seek expert advice and consult openly with interested parties on decisions affecting the environment.”
3. That all members of the Anguilla House of Assembly be immediately provided with a copy of the EPA.
As the representative of the impacted area, I intend to seek assistance from the British Government to have the EPA study – Environmental Impact Assessment: Proposed Salt Pond Conversion Road Bay, Anguilla, BWI, prepared by Ocean Earth Technologies August 2013, reviewed by an independent and professional company.
I trust that you will respond favourably to my reasonable request made on behalf of the people of the Road North Constituency in particular, and the people of Anguilla in general.
Edison Baird, MA
Elected Representative of the Road North
Constituency, House of Assembly
cc: the Governor, Ms. Christina Scott, the Attorney General, Mr. James Wood, and the Press
