Soil
testing begins on Alcoa smelter site
By
Louis B Homer
South
Bureau
Trinidad & Tobago Express
Port
Spain
Petroleumworld.com
07 09 06
Preliminary work on the controversial smelter plant
to be built at Cap-de-Ville by Alcoa has started.
Randall
Overbey, President of Alcoa Primary Metals Development,
announced this weekend that soil testing had started
on the proposed site, but no trees will be uprooted
during the project and in addition, the company
will not permit bulldozing on the site.
Speaking
to members of the American Chamber of Commerce at
Cara Suites, Claxton Bay, Overbey said: "Drilling
for soil tests will begin shortly, and we have been
advised by the Environmental Management Authority
that a certificate of environmental clearance is
not required."
Overbey
said the US $1.5 billion plant will be similar to
one in Deschambault, Canada.
"This
will be among 24 smelters around the world, and
when completed it will place some US $100 million
annually in the local economy. " he said .
Construction
of the plant has drawn objection by some villagers
as well as environmentalists who see the plant as
a threat to the health and lives of the people of
the area.
In
February 2006 Alcoa signed an agreement in principle
with the government of Trinidad to build a world-class
aluminium smelter in the Cap-de-Ville area.
Overbey
said in order to ensure that villagers become part
of the development planned for the area, Alcoa proposes
to set up a Community Advisory Board to assist the
company in its operations.
Overbey
said that the company will not use any material
on site that was likely to contaminate the ground,
and any water leaving the plant will be monitored
to avoid any possible contamination.
Overbey
gave the assurance that "waste will be shipped
to the company's treatment plant in Arkansas, USA,
and we have no plans for dumping the waste in the
sea."
He
said the proposed plant would produce about 341,000
metric tonnes of aluminium smelter which will be
powered by self contained natural gas. Production
from this plant is expected to begin in 2008
Overbey
said construction would not begin until the completion
of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and
final approval by the company's board of directors.
About
one third of the 1,500-acre site would be cleared
for the construction of buildings, " but no
land would be cleared until the EIA has been completed,"
Overbey said.
He
said his company will work closely with the National
Energy Corporation in ensuring that the coastline
is not affected while a new port is being built
to ship products from the plant.
The
port will be constructed by the NEC and Alcoa is
expected to work closely with them.
Alcoa
is the world's leading producer of primary aluminium,
fabricated aluminium and alumna.
The
company was recently awarded the United Nations
Environmental Programme Global 500 Roll of Honour.
Sunday, July 9th 2006
Trinidad & Tobago Express /
Copyright
©2006 Trinidad Express. All Rights Reserved.
