Problems
surface in landfill project
by
Charlene Thompson
Ruaau
Member of Parliament, Maria Heather, says the Rarotonga landfill
project is destined to fail unless stronger measures are taken
to make sure there is no leakage from the site. "People in the
community have concerns about the site as there is a stream
running right next to it. It's a beautiful design, but my main
concern is that if it leaks into the stream, it will go down
to the lagoon and pollute it, therefore destroying every fish
and shellfish in the area, which my people eat."
And
while a polluted lagoon is not going to impress locals, the
impact on tourism could also be detrimental to our fragile economy.
Last
week a meeting was called by the Waste Management Committee
to look at the landfill project for the island. The proposed
site is located at the Arorangi quarry, inland and to the east
of the national prison on the west side of the island.
While
not many people attended the meeting, Heather puts this down
to people not being conscious of the impact the landfill may
have on their lives and their homes in future. She also questions
if the Cook Islands is being used as a guinea pig for the project,
as no other country in the Pacific region has the system.
Meanwhile,
Rarotonga Environment Awareness Programme (REAP) spokesperson,
Bruce Gray, says there were many other concerns raised on the
night, which government was not able to answer. "Everyone knows
we need to have this landfill. But, there was a concern whether
there were provisions in place to tackle a leakage problem,"
he said.
An
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) done on the site, had
a letter of concern from Public Health about possible health
risks if the dumping of solid and liquid waste is mismanaged.
The Rarotonga prison management was also against the proposed
route and was concerned that the new access road running down
the length of one side of the prison would compromise the privacy
of the prisoners. It will also increase the length of the fence
line required to be patrolled to check for any illegal goods
that may be deposited by the public for prisoners. These are
only two of the concerns raised, for which answers are still
being sought.
Heather
concludes by raising the possibility of each constituency or
vaka having its own waste management project.
Cook
Islands News 9th April 2003
