BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS (28 Aug 2004) -- Before last Thursday, no one really knows how long it would have taken U.S. Coast Guard to come to the aid of the BVI in the event of a major oil spill. "Before the agreement there were some legal hoops to jump though on the U.S. side. Similarly, the BVI had some legal hoops to jump through," said Patrick Keane, Environmental Protection Specialist with the U.S. Coast Guard. "This gives us permission so that we don't have to wait two or three days to get here." Officials from the BVI boarded a U.S. Coast Guard vessel docked in Road Harbour last Thursday to sign an agreement that eliminates red tape and allows U.S. Coast Guard teams to immediately assist the BVI in the event of a major marine incident involving oil or hazardous materials. The BVI's Department of Disaster Management has a 10-person team to contain and clean up small spills so long as they are not close to environmentally sensitive areas such as coral reefs and beds of sea grass. If such areas are threatened, or if the spill is large enough, BVI officials would call for help from the U.S. Coast Guard, which has a wider range of equipment and more manpower. | | The agreement spells out the procedure for requesting and granting aid. It also calls for co-operation between the two entities in training. SOURCE - BVI Beacon |
