TT:
ALCOA smelter standoff, citizens hold their ground
By
Kim
Boodram
Trinidad
Express
Port
Spain
Petroleumworld.com
09 10 06
For
the past week there has been a vehemently negative
reaction from the people of South Trinidad over
the Government's intention to build two aluminium
smelters in Cap-de-Ville/Chatham and La Brea.
While
citizens have pledged to die for the anti-smelter
movement, Prime Minister Patrick Manning has said
that nothing is going to change his decision.
Over
the past week, Alcoa has held a press conference
and two public meetings - in Cap-de-Ville/Chatham
and Port of Spain. In Chatham, the people were emotional
and clear - they accused Alcoa of being a vampire
on local resources and they don't want a smelter.
Wade Hughes of Alcoa has denied all their claims
of impending nationwide pollution and no sustainable
economic benefits.
The
major questions being asked are "At what price
is Alcoa buying local natural gas?", "Is
T&T ready to monitor this type of industry"
and "Is this industry appropriate for a small,
densely populated island?"
Alcoa
has applied for a Certificate for Environmental
Clearance from the local governing body, the Environmental
Management Authority (EMA), which has now issued
a Draft Terms of Reference (TOR). Public comment
on the draft TOR must be submitted by September
1.
Express
Business looks at some of the issues cropping up
around this proposal.
In
February 2006, a confidential 'agreement in principle'
was signed between the Government of Trinidad and
Tobago and Alcoa. The agreement followed a Memorandum
of Agreement (MOU) of May 2004 for Alcoa's participation
in the development of an aluminium industry in T&T.
Called on last week to explain his presence here,
Wade Hughes made it clear that Alcoa was invited
to this country by the Government.
Alcoa
is the world's largest producer of primary aluminium,
fabricated aluminium and alumina facilities. It
runs 24 smelters around the world in Australia,
Canada, Norway, United States, Italy, Spain and
Brazil. One is currently being built in Iceland,
amidst heavy protest by the citizenry. The company
has a payroll of 131,000 in 43 countries. It has
been a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average
for 45 years.
The
Cap-de-Ville project will comprise an aluminium
smelter, a power station to supply it, a port and
associated downstream facilities. The smelter will
be spread over 1,500 acres and its buffer zone will
be twice the size of the actual plant. This is an
upgrade from the size of the previous proposal,
after Alcoa apparently realised that it needed more
room. Alcoa has said that one-third of the site
will be cleared for buildings while the remaining
two-thirds will be used "productively"
for nature conservation, ecological education and
agriculture/horticulture.
The
company will spend a minimum of US$1 billion to
erect the South project. It presently awaits the
final Terms of Reference from the Environmental
Management Authority (EMA) to complete its Environmental
Impact Assessment (EIA) at a cost of US$1 million.
The EIA is to be done by a local company called
Eco-engineering Limited, headed by Dr George Sammy.
A separate EIA will have to be done for the port
because of the sensitive nature of that part of
the coastline and its importance to the local fishing
industry. That area encompasses one of the country's
four shrimping grounds.
One
of the fundamental concerns of anti-smelter lobbyists
is that the price at which Alcoa is being sold gas
is not being made public. At the end of its 30-year
life-span, Alcoa would have consumed between four
and eight per cent of this country's known natural
gas reserves.
They
argue that multinationals such as Alcoa are being
allowed to ferret away local gas and oil reserves
at unacceptably low prices.
At
a media conference called by Alcoa last Tuesday
at the Marriott Hotel, Invaders' Bay, Hughes said
it is common, internationally, that such deals be
done confidentially. Hughes has said downstream
industries springing out of the smelter will add
balance. According to Hughes, the T&T Government
has asked that his company develop for a percentage
of primary aluminium in local downstream use. The
percentage has not been disclosed.
Environmentalists
have expressed fear that Eco-engineering has never
performed an EIA of this nature and this increases
the risk of an inaccurate report. Questions also
have been raised about the reliability of an EIA
that is paid for by the party applying for a Certificate
of Environmental Clearance (CEC).
Hughes
said, "If Alcoa doesn't pay the US$1 million
to get the EIA done then who will".
He
later said that Alcoa did not choose the Cap-de-Ville
site but rather it was shown by the Government.
This
has resulted in anti-smelter groups demanding that
the Government accept financial responsibility for
the EIA so as not to compromise quality.
The
smelter will have a production capacity of 341,000
metric tonnes per year. The first metal production
is expected in late 2008. In about nine years it
will be time to discard the spent potlining used
in the aluminium extractor. Spent potlining is highly
toxic and if laid into the ground will poison soil
and groundwater with, among other substances, cyanide.
The smelter will sit at the top of an aquifer that
services most of South Trinidad and environmentalists
are worried about the leakage of contaminated water
during smelting.
Hughes,
who said he lives next to a smelter, has assured
the country that the spent pot lining will be shipped
oversees, most likely to Gum Springs in Arkansas.
"I
can assure you that no spent pot lining will be
landfilled here," Hughes said. "It's going
to be shipped overseas for treatment or, the possibility
of recycling does exist."
He
also said the company will try to ensure no water
leakage during smelting.
Environmentalists
and citizens alike are concerned that there is no
definite plan for disposal of the waste and feel
that the EMA is not equipped to monitor an industry
of this size or nature. At a public meeting held
by Alcoa on Thursday at St John's Ambulance Hall,
Port of Spain, Biologist Dr Julien Kenny said:
"What
is being proposed is in conflict with the law. Trinidad
and Tobago is a signatory to the Basil Convention
and there is no domestic legislation that deals
with what you are proposing. This country will run
the risk of sanction."
Kenny
said this country would have to seek prior approval
from the other signatories and Alcoa is making public
declarations with no basis. This country has only
proposed laws on air and water pollution.
Alcoa
said an estimated 1,500 temporary jobs will be available
during the construction phase of the plant. They
have estimated about 750-800 permanent jobs, Alcoa
has said that it will try to fill as many of those
positions as possible with local content. The company
said it intends to train anyone interested in a
job but it is difficult to say how many high-level
positions will be filled by locals.
"I
can't give figures now," Hughes said. "But
Alcoa's policy is that as many locals be employed
as possible."
Trinidad Express
Wednesday, August 30th 2006
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©2006 Trinidad Express . All Rights Reserved.
