Black Immigrant Daily News
The Protect Our Future organisation (“POF”) said on their Facebook page that “Dart dump trucks dumped 6 loads of boulders into the sea by the crumbling wall at the old Royal Palms,” in connection which POF has noted a number of environmental concerns.
In particular, POF said that “The Department of Environment did not approve the dumping” and now there is an “outflow of murky water [that] is going past the floats” that were put in place to “prevent sedimentation on the reef.”
Also reacting to the placement of the boulders, a person close to POF also told Loop News that “The boulders dumped in the water are hugely damaging to the reefs and marine life there, and we fear it is a harbinger of more development to come.”
As a result of the environmental implications, the group says that this action “cannot go unnoticed” and, as such, members of the group are now seeking to raise public awareness of the issue.
Acknowledging the concerns, the Dart representative confirmed that “Dart has been working with governmental authorities on remediation of the westernmost structures on the Royal Palms property,” indicating that government authorities have knowledge of the activity at Royal Palms.
The Dart representative continued: “In collaboration with the Department of the Environment and the Department of Planning, we have developed a plan for careful clean-up of debris and stabilisation of structures. This plan was refined following a site evaluation of current conditions on 23 November with consulting engineers and representatives from DoE. The approved methodology employs considerations to ensure public safety and screens to contain silt and protect the marine environment. We will closely monitor weather and turbidity and will follow guidelines provided by the DoE team during both its detailed review process and following onsite inspections. With favourable conditions, we estimate completion of the initial clean-up in approximately one to two weeks.”
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Members of the public now await a response from the Department of the Environment on the matter, including a confirmation whether the works required a Coastal Works Permit and, if required, whether one was approved and issued.
Another angle of the works by Royal Palms (Photo credit: Jon Schutte)
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