It sounds almost too good to be true when Dutch State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops tells the Second Chamber of Parliament in The Hague that he expects a breakthrough on the joint St. Maarten/St. Martin sewage treatment plant (see related story). After all, the plan has been under discussion for many years and was first presented at a Cole Bay/Pelican/Simpson Bay town hall meeting back in 2012.
The European Union (EU) even approved funding for the purification facility and connecting lines, but disagreement within the Dutch side’s political establishment over a suitable location stalled matters, as did incidents related to the so-called “border dispute” with French authorities at Oyster Pond. In the meantime, dirty wastewater mainly from overflowing cesspools in the partly industrialised area continues to flow into Simpson Bay Lagoon.
As matter of fact, the spread of a harmful algal bloom in the Eastern end of the inlet that is so important to the island’s tourism economy and yachting sector in particular was reported at the end of February. Moreover, the freshwater well on Well Road recently tested positive for e-coli bacteria, a strong indication that the pollution problem is becoming serious.
The intention is now apparently to involve the World Bank that manages the Recovery Trust Fund. According to Knops, both the Netherlands and France are committed to the project.
Hopefully, that will produce some tangible results wherever the money comes from, because what the people have mostly heard on this matter so far are nothing but excuses.
