On Tuesday we told you about an oil spill at one of Belize Natural Energy's wells which may have tainted Spanish Lookout's water supply. The malfunction of Mike Usher Well #3 caused what the technicians are calling a mist. That is being cleaned up. But experts at the Department of Environment say the kind of thing could re-occur and the next time it could be worse. Why? Well Chief Environmental Officer Martin Allegria says BNE has flat out refused to file an environmental impact assessment.

Martin Allegria, Chief Environmental Officer
"It wasn't a major issue in terms of the amounts, the volumes, and the type. When he heard it was a spill we thought it was crude. It really was a mist, a fine mist because of where it was escaping from is where the gas goes. So it was small volumes of it just disbursing into the atmosphere and raining down like mist."

Keith Swift,
Is there a plan in place to deal with these type of emergencies?

Martin Allegria,
"They claim, they being Belize Natural Energy, claim that yes they have developed a plan. Notwithstanding a developing a plan at a company level, is one thing but being revised and approved by the official agency such as in this case the Department of Environment or NEMO in the case of other emergency plans is another issue and that is where we haven't reached at this stage yet.

BNE has not done any EIA, despite us requesting such since the 2nd of May of last year. Yes they have tried to address issues by first doing an environmental audit, which we did require, of what has already been done. Environmental impact assessment though is a planning too, an environmental planning tool of what will most likely happen in the near future and how to avoid it. Case in point, we're discussing the potential for a oil spill. Unfortunately that has not been done, meaning environmental impact assessment."

Keith Swift,
Why not?

Martin Allegria,
"That's a good question. Despite us reminding them repeatedly, I went through the files last week or two, I think it was seven reminders, and up to now they haven't."

Allegria says that as a last resort they will take BNE to court where they'll be able to get an injunction which would shut down operations in Spanish Lookout until they comply.