Planning for potential oil spill disaster

In September, the Department of the Environment convened the first consultations with stakeholders on forming a National Oil Spill Contingency Plan. Today, those consultations continued at the Biltmore Plaza, focusing on firming up whose responsibilities it will be to react first, whether by land or by sea. Environmental Officer with the Department, Maxine Monsanto, details what you should expect to see when the unthinkable happens.

Maxine Monsanto, Environmental Officer, D.O.E.

“In the guideline it actually has a notification section; so in the event that a tanker spills on the highway, the notification section says contact NEMO on the NEMO hotline; and their responsibility is to contact the Department of the Environment, and then the Department of the Environment proceeds with the agencies that need to respond then. If it’s within the marine environment, based on International Maritime Organization rules, contact the Harbour Master or the Port Authority – in this case in Belize it’s the same person – contact the Belize Port Authority or the Coast Guard; the Belize Port Authority contacts the Department of the Environment, who then calls out to the different agencies that will need to respond within the marine environment.”