THA: No oil overspill at Studley Park Landfill

The Office of the Chief Secretary (OCS), in a media release on November 5, has denied a newspaper report that Tobago was facing a new threat from an improper disposal of spilled oil.

A November 3 article by the Trinidad Express said the disposal of the oil using pits at the Studley Park Landfill may be posing a threat to the environment owing to oil spilling over the pits and into soil.

The OCS said an investigation was done and the article was "inaccurate and misleading."

The OCS said Chief Secretary Farley Augustine commissioned the Tobago Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) to assess the situation. TEMA reported that there was no evidence of oil coming from the pits and confirmed that the soil around the cells have not been affected.

Additionally, Augustine said the process of digging, lining and utilising the holes, included collaboration with and approval from the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) and THA Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) officers. Augustine also said officers from the landfill frequently survey the surrounding areas to ensure no signs of oil leakage.

Augustine said the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) is in communication with the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries about the final disposal of the oil from the February 7 oil spill, caused by an overturned barge, and emphasised that this process must be dealt with quickly.