SXMElections.com

PHILIPSBURG – Prime Minister William Marlin is heartened that the Parliament of St. Maarten is taking time out to tour the Simpson Bay Lagoon and visit the proposed site for the sewage plant.

He believes that Parliament will get a greater understanding of the government’s position regarding the construction of the sewage plant. “If government is planning to build a sewage plant in a particular location that is creating some discussion and some buzz, it behooves Parliament to look into the matter,” the Prime Minister said at Wednesday’s Council of Ministers press briefing.

Prime Minister Marlin noted that Members of Parliament will also note when they visit the site that the number of sewage drainage pipes already installed leading to the lagoon. “I can show you pictures that were taken and surveys that were made, and I think there were 28 locations where there are drainages running straight into the lagoon as if the lagoon was the sewage plant,”

Marlin said.

The government of St. Maarten is set to receive €3 million to aid with the construction of a sewage plant, which has been earmarked to be constructed in the vicinity of the Simpson Bay Lagoon close to the causeway bridge. This would require further filling in of the lagoon to create an island to construct the sewage plant.

Environmentalists are opposed to the idea as they argue it will further pollute the lagoon. However, Prime Minister Marlin and Minister of VROMI Angel Meyers have argued otherwise, pointing to the importance of coming up with a solution to deal with the sewage problem. They also claim that building a plant in that location would stop the current wanton pollution of the lagoon.