Pressure called for when officials fail to act on environmental disasters

Which way do residents move when trying to get elected leaders and their government officials to take action on major environmental disasters? At a local level, some say it’s better to raise the issue with officials and adopt a collaborative approach, others say when this does not evince remedial action, a stronger public insistence or push back is required to make these officials do their legally mandated jobs. One immediate crisis has been the spilling of much of Gonubie’s sewage into the ocean at German Bay for six months after the metro’s sewage plant was vandalised and stopped working.

Green Ripple public interest group spokesperson Kevin Harris said: “While it’s critical to preserve a collaborative culture and work with the departments towards resolving these operational environmental threats inside these highly productive collaborations such as the Tidy Towns project, the negative consequences of neglect cannot be allowed to pollute or destroy environments. “Issues outside this collaborative sphere of influence must be highlighted and sustained pressure applied until it is resolved. “There should be no silos that protect the perpetrators of real issues or lack of resolution within reasonable time frames as per environmental and legal mandates.

“Public opposition to environmental threats may need to be escalated and resolved through continued pressure from all angles.” Harris said: “There are definite signs in BCM of limited operational budgets and we know there is little that will be done in terms of major infrastructure planning or critical line items. “But the illegal sewage discharge at German Bay/Eastward Ho continues. “It is occurring right now into an estuary, a surf zone and a marine protected area.

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“These are all deemed to be sensitive areas and discharge of sewage into any of them is not allowed. “A coastal waters discharge permit or general authorisation is required from the minister for any discharge of sewage into the ocean and is usually only granted for discharge offshore in deep water — once treated.

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