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PHILIPSBURG – Prime Minister William Marlin dismissed opposition to the proposed construction of a sewage plant in the vicinity of the Cole Bay causeway for fears it could impact the Simpson Bay lagoon.
“Raw sewage is running from Cay Bay, from Cole Bay, from Billy Folly area – from all areas from the pond – raw sewage is running into the pond,†the Prime Minister noted. “The pollution of the pond in the area there by Tropicana Hotel is horrendous, but once you build the sewage plant properly and responsibly you will be able to contain all of that sewage into the pond and do a proper treatment of it and in a responsible way,†Prime Minister Marlin added.
The Prime Minister, while addressing the media at Wednesday’s Council of Minister’s press briefing stressed the importance of having a sewage plant constructed. He pointed out that several hundred boats during the Heineken Regatta release waste water into the lagoon, thus pointing to the need for a sewage plant to be built in the area to manage such waste responsibly.
“Yes, we would be reclaiming some land (in the lagoon), but land to be put to good use and to solve the greater good of the entire lagoon,†Marlin stated.
He recently met with the Préfet and the President of the Collectivité of St. Martin on three initiatives: construction of the sewage plant; clean-up of the Simpson Bay Lagoon; and run-off water in the Belvedere/French Quarter area.
Construction of the sewage plant will be done in collaboration with the European Union (EU), Marlin noted, thus the high international standards in the construction of this sewage plant would be adhered to.
