PHILIPSBURG – The dump has flared up again and is covering the greater Philipsburg area in shrouds of thick smoke. Areas as far as Cul de Sac and Cay Hill are affected. With one cruise ship in port today, the picture a visitor gets from St. Maarten is hardly an appealing one.
When commenting on the issue last week, Minister responsible for VROMI Angel Meyers said that it is difficult not to have fires at the landfill, but pointed out that measures will be put in place to contain its impact, including addressing the problem of the landfill, which has passed its time. “This course of action cannot continue. As was indicated time and time before, the landfill has reached its maximum capacity. There are different competing interests in moving forward in looking at waste-to-energy. There were discussions where there was a sort of a stalemate as it concerns the power purchase agreement, but this government has made a decision that we will take control of the situation and make a decision this week as the way going forward,” Minister Meyers said.
Now that the fire has flared up again, the measures taken to control a fire’s impact will need to be reevaluated promptly and more measures taken as the health of residents and visitors is at stake.
Let’s get a solution to the dump problem NOW. This is ridiculous and very harmful for the health of all on SXM.