The "The Dump Burns On!" Story

Foreword:  I wrote this story over a month ago, but never posted it until now hoping something would have been offered as a solution to the problem you are about to read about.  A solution has to come soon before lives are lost due to the problem.

 It was an ordinary day.  And, if you have been following my stories about the Sint Maarten landfill, known as "the dump" you might be interested in the latest news published in The Daily Herald.  Seems that the government, which is the defendant in a lawsuit brought by Barbara Cannegeiter, Camiel Koster and law firm Bergman Zwanikken Snow Essed (BZSE), is hiding the results from a recent test on the dump.  They are still waiting on a plan of action pertaining to the fires and the release of smoke, gases and foul smell at what is commonly known as the sanitary landfill on Pond Island.  How could anyone refer to this dump as a sanitary landfill.  My wife and I visited St. Maarten a few months ago and while on the island visited with Barbara and Dee Cannegeiter.  While walking through their beautiful garden we could see the billowing smoke as well as open flames burning a few miles from their house.  How many people have to die or develop respiratory problems before something is done?   For years Barbara has had to stay inside her home days at a time with the windows closed in order to escape the awful smoke and gases released from the dump.  Finally she and a friend and his law office filed a lawsuit against the government and the current management company of the landfill.  

Daily Herald photograph showing the magnitude of "the dump".

The government has known for years that the emission of smoke, smell and gases was a major problem.  The government did submit a road map to the Court on October 17, but said the road map has not yet been approved by the Council of Ministers, while signing of the World Bank grant agreement, which will give aid to the government, has been delayed.   The government estimated the cost of eliminating the smoke and fumes to be $6.1 million US dollars.  So why don't they do something.  The government was supposed to place on their website a tender for a new manager by October 31, but it never happened.  An expert on landfill fires advised the government that the landfill fires could be stopped within five months, but the government has not "finalized their report yet."  The litigants maintain their claim that an independent investigation into the exact harmfulness of the emission of smoke, gasses and odor has not been done or the results are being kept from them.  Any guess why they are withholding the results of the tests?  Duh!  The litigants then called on the Judge in this fiasco to schedule a Court hearing for November 23, when the second progress report is due.  They also will ask for a verdict in the case if the government were to announce more delays in the case.  All this is going on as more people are being effected by the smoke and gas.  If the defendants lived in the path of all the fume, smoke and gas, you better believe they would have done something years ago.  As far as all the tourists who have avoided the island due to the problem, it continues to grow.  And tourism is the lifeblood of Sint Maarten.  Elimination of "the dump" has to be a no-brainer for the government.  At least that's how I see it.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.