Three decades of virtually unregulated dumping of waste at the territory’s two main landfills has turned acres of paradise into mountains of trash that hide a bubbling cauldron of flammable gas.
For years, assorted household garbage, car batteries, medical waste, used oil, paints and aerosols, among other items, have been buried at the Anguilla landfill on St. Croix and the Bovoni landfill on St. Thomas. But what’s out of sight doesn’t mean out of the environment.
Since its inception 20 years ago, the Bovoni landfill has grown to 34 acres, with a mountain of dirt-covered trash 90 feet high, according to a 1999 study done for the V.I. government by the Maguire Group Inc. Under the fill dirt is some 1.2 million tons of waste, equivalent to more than 10 Destiny cruise ships .
St. Croix’s Anguilla landfill, meanwhile, opened in the mid-1960’s and currently covers 33 acres with 1.9 million tons of waste at depths up to 81 feet, according to the Maguire Group report.
Actually, calling either Anguilla or Bovoni a landfill is a misnomer. According to the Department of Public Works’ draft bid packet for a solid-waste management facility, the definition of a modern landfill is "usually a lined hole in the ground that is filled with refuse and covered with dirt according to EPA regulations."
But the territory’s landfills, operated by Public Works, are not lined to protect nearby ground and surface water from toxic runoff, nor have they been regularly receiving the industry standard of a minimum of six inches of dirt cover on a daily basis. Essentially, the Virgin Islands’ "landfills" are massive dumps.
At a recent Senate Committee on Environmental Protection, Dean Plaskett, commissioner of the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, said covering the daily accumulation of deposited trash at the St. Croix site with the daily requirement of fill has been a problem.
"The most blatant noncompliance is the failure to cover the landfill with six inches of dirt every day," Plaskett said.
At the same hearing, Roan Creque, special projects director for Public Works, said the Anguilla site hasn’t had a compacter to properly pack the fill dirt and trash "for a while."
Over the years, that lack of proper compaction has fueled what anyone living on either St. Croix or St. Thomas knows too well – acrid landfill fires.

IT’S A GAS, GAS, GAS
The problems brewing under the surface of the territory’s dumps started when garbage was dumped and then covered with dirt. As the dumped trash decomposes a toxic stew is created, replete with a flammable gas.
If compaction is insufficient, air pockets form and are filled by the gas produced by the rotting trash. The gas – methane – is colorless, odorless and, as residents of St. Croix and St. Thomas know, flammable.
According to the Maguire report, it is estimated that the Bovoni landfill is currently producing 460 million cubic feet per year of landfill gas while its counterpart on St. Croix is producing gas to the tune of 520 million cubic feet per year.
The Maguire study was done to assess whether the methane could be reduced by using a gas-to-energy scheme. Ridding just the Bovoni site of methane is estimated to cost approximately $15 million.
In the meantime, Public Works Commissioner Harold Thompson Jr. said that while recurring blazes at the Anguilla dump have been quelled for the time being, it’s just a matter of time before another fire breaks out. The same goes for the Bovoni site.
"We know there is subterranean fires beneath the landfill," Thompson said, adding that the department is stockpiling fill dirt to smother the next outbreak of flames.
He said the public can assist by sorting trash and by not placing items such as empty propane tanks in trash collection bins. Public Works personnel try to check each load going into the dumps, but they can’t check everything, Thompson said.
"As long as there is violation of dumping . . . you’re adding more flammable material," Thompson said. "We’re trying to check, but can’t categorically say we won’t have another fire at the landfill."

A St. Croix police officer was stabbed by a teenager during an early-morning scuffle Sunday.
According to the V.I. Police Department, an off-duty officer was assisting in breaking up a fight at the Bingo Building in Estate Orange Grove. After the altercation another scuffle broke out between the officer and two brothers, during which the officer was stabbed in the lower abdomen.
Maddy Dawod, 19, was arrested and charged with assault. The officer was admitted to Gov. Juan F. Luis Hospital for treatment. The wound was not life-threatening.

Three decades of virtually unregulated dumping of waste at the territory’s two main landfills has turned acres of paradise into mountains of trash that hide a bubbling cauldron of flammable gas.
For years, assorted household garbage, car batteries, medical waste, used oil, paints aerosols, among other items, have been buried at the Anguilla landfill on St. Croix and the Bovoni landfill on St. Thomas. But what’s out of sight doesn’t mean out of the environment.
Since its inception 20 years ago, the Bovoni landfill has grown to 34 acres, with a mountain of dirt-covered trash 90 feet high, according to a 1999 study done for the V.I. government by the Maguire Group, Inc. Under the fill dirt is some 1.2 million tons of waste, equivalent to more than 10 Destiny cruise ships .
St. Croix’s Anguilla landfill, meanwhile, opened in the mid-1960’s and currently covers 33 acres with 1.9 million tons of waste in place at depths up to 81 feet, according to the Maguire Group report.
But calling either Anguilla or Bovoni a landfill is a misnomer. According to the Department of Public Works’ draft bid packet for a solid waste management facility, the definition of a modern landfill is "usually a lined hole in the ground that is filled with refuse and covered with dirt according to EPA regulations."
But the territory’s landfills, operated by Public Works, are not lined to protect nearby ground and surface water from toxic runoff, nor have they been regularly receiving the industry standard of a minimum of six inches of dirt cover on a daily basis. Essentially the Virgin Islands’ "landfills" are massive dumps.
At a recent Senate Committee on Environmental Protection, Dean Plaskett, commissioner of the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, said covering the daily accumulation of deposited trash at the St. Croix site with the daily requirement of fill has been a problem.
"The most blatant noncompliance is the failure to cover the landfill with six inches of dirt everyday," Plaskett said.
At the same hearing, Roan Creque, special projects director for Public Works, said the Anguilla site hasn’t had a compacter to properly pack the fill dirt and trash "for a while."
Over the years, that lack of proper compaction has fueled what anyone living on either St. Croix or St. Thomas knows too well – acrid landfill fires.

IT’S A GAS, GAS, GAS
The problems brewing under the surface of the territory’s dumps started when garbage was dumped and then covered with dirt. As the dumped trash decomposes a toxic stew is created, replete with a flammable gas.
If compaction isn’t sufficient, however, air pockets form and are filled by the gas produced by the rotting trash. The gas – methane – is colorless, odorless and as residents of St. Croix and St. Thomas know, flammable.
According to the Maguire report, it is estimated that the Bovoni landfill is currently producing 460 million cubic feet per year of landfill gas while its counterpart on St. Croix is producing gas to the tune of 520 million cubic feet per year.
The Maguire study was done to assess whether the methane could be reduced by using a gas-to-energy scheme. Ridding just the Bovoni site of methane is estimated at approximately $15 million.
In the meantime, Public Works Commissioner Harold Thompson Jr. said that while recurring blazes at the Anguilla dump have been quelled for the time being, it’s just a matter of time before another fire breaks out. The same goes for the Bovoni site.
"We know there is subterranean fires beneath the landfill," Thompson said, adding that the department is stockpiling fill dirt to smother the next outbreak of flames.
He said the public can assist by sorting trash and by not placing items such as empty propane tanks in trash collection bins. Public Works personnel try to check each load going into the dumps, but they can’t check everything, Thompson said.
"As long as there is violation of dumping . . . you’re adding more flammable material," Thompson said. "We’re trying to check, but can’t categorically say we won’t have another fire at the landfill."

Three decades of virtually unregulated dumping of waste at the territory’s two main landfills has turned acres of paradise into mountains of trash that hide a bubbling cauldron of flammable gas.
For years, assorted household garbage, car batteries, medical waste, used oil, paints and aerosols, among other items, have been buried at the Anguilla landfill on St. Croix and the Bovoni landfill on St. Thomas. But what’s out of sight doesn’t mean out of the environment.
Since its inception 20 years ago, the Bovoni landfill has grown to 34 acres, with a mountain of dirt-covered trash 90 feet high, according to a 1999 study done for the V.I. government by the Maguire Group Inc. Under the fill dirt is some 1.2 million tons of waste, equivalent to more than 10 Destiny cruise ships .
St. Croix’s Anguilla landfill, meanwhile, opened in the mid-1960’s and currently covers 33 acres with 1.9 million tons of waste at depths up to 81 feet, according to the Maguire Group report.
Actually, calling either Anguilla or Bovoni a landfill is a misnomer. According to the Department of Public Works’ draft bid packet for a solid-waste management facility, the definition of a modern landfill is "usually a lined hole in the ground that is filled with refuse and covered with dirt according to EPA regulations."
But the territory’s landfills, operated by Public Works, are not lined to protect nearby ground and surface water from toxic runoff, nor have they been regularly receiving the industry standard of a minimum of six inches of dirt cover on a daily basis. Essentially, the Virgin Islands’ "landfills" are massive dumps.
At a recent Senate Committee on Environmental Protection, Dean Plaskett, commissioner of the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, said covering the daily accumulation of deposited trash at the St. Croix site with the daily requirement of fill has been a problem.
"The most blatant noncompliance is the failure to cover the landfill with six inches of dirt every day," Plaskett said.
At the same hearing, Roan Creque, special projects director for Public Works, said the Anguilla site hasn’t had a compacter to properly pack the fill dirt and trash "for a while."
Over the years, that lack of proper compaction has fueled what anyone living on either St. Croix or St. Thomas knows too well – acrid landfill fires.

IT’S A GAS, GAS, GAS
The problems brewing under the surface of the territory’s dumps started when garbage was dumped and then covered with dirt. As the dumped trash decomposes a toxic stew is created, replete with a flammable gas.
If compaction is insufficient, air pockets form and are filled by the gas produced by the rotting trash. The gas – methane – is colorless, odorless and, as residents of St. Croix and St. Thomas know, flammable.
According to the Maguire report, it is estimated that the Bovoni landfill is currently producing 460 million cubic feet per year of landfill gas while its counterpart on St. Croix is producing gas to the tune of 520 million cubic feet per year.
The Maguire study was done to assess whether the methane could be reduced by using a gas-to-energy scheme. Ridding just the Bovoni site of methane is estimated to cost approximately $15 million.
In the meantime, Public Works Commissioner Harold Thompson Jr. said that while recurring blazes at the Anguilla dump have been quelled for the time being, it’s just a matter of time before another fire breaks out. The same goes for the Bovoni site.
"We know there is subterranean fires beneath the landfill," Thompson said, adding that the department is stockpiling fill dirt to smother the next outbreak of flames.
He said the public can assist by sorting trash and by not placing items such as empty propane tanks in trash collection bins. Public Works personnel try to check each load going into the dumps, but they can’t check everything, Thompson said.
"As long as there is violation of dumping . . . you’re adding more flammable material," Thompson said. "We’re trying to check, but can’t categorically say we won’t have another fire at the landfill."

A broken sewer pipe Monday has forced the closure of Fort Frederik Beach in Frederiksted, just weeks after another discharge killed thousands of fish.
According to the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, a sewer line near Estate La Grange broke. Personnel from the Division of Environmental Protection collected water samples at the beach just north of the cruise ship pier and then subsequently closed it to the public.
Harold Thompson, commissioner of the Department of Public Works, said contractors had been secured to repair the broken sewer. He didn’t, however, say how long the beach would be closed.
The Carnival Cruise Lines ship the Destiny is scheduled to make its biweekly call to Frederiksted Wednesday morning.
Monday’s west end sewage problem follows another approximately two weeks ago that killed more than 1,100 fish in the canal that runs near the Legislature building at Lagoon Street to the ocean at Fort Frederik Beach.
The fish kill occurred when the Lagoon Street pump station failed and sent sewage into the canal, according to an enforcement officer with DEP. The pollution depleted oxygen and killed some 1,100 tilapia, snook, mullet and crayfish, he said.

A large part of the Virgin Islands tourist tobacco industry may have been shot down by federal legislation that apparently was aimed elsewhere.
A new federal law makes it illegal to bring American tobacco back into the country if it bears a stamp saying it was originally sold for export only.
"All the American cigarettes sold in the Virgin Islands, as far as we can tell, are 'for export only' " William Westman, chief inspector for U.S. Customs based in St. Thomas, said Monday.
St. Thomas retailer Vinnie Mohanani said he learned of the new law over the weekend when a cruise ship passenger visiting his Vissal Duty Free Shop remarked that it was a shame he couldn't take advantage of the low prices on cigarettes. The visitor had been told on board the ship that he would not be allowed to take American tobacco products back home. The ban covers sales both on islands and on ship.
Mohanani faxed a letter to Customs in St. Thomas asking if the law applies here.
"We're trying to get it clarified," Westman said, adding that V.I. Customs staff had been on the phone much of the day Monday. "We have our counsel looking at it" as well as management staff in Puerto Rico.
Westman said his office had not been formally notified about the law but "we heard rumblings about it" because "they are strictly enforcing it in Florida."
American cigarettes brought into the territory for resale are exempt from the Internal Revenue Tax and from duty. Westman said the IRT is $2.40 for a carton of small cigarettes and $5.04 per carton of large cigarettes. The duty is 2.8 percent of the value, plus $1.26 per kilo.
The exemptions translate to a savings of about $8 a carton, a difference that makes it easy for V.I. retailers to give tourists a bargain. The territory long ago developed a reputation as a good place to shop for cigarettes.
"This obviously is going to have a very big impact" on the territory, Westman said.
Between excise and gross receipts taxes, Mohanani estimated the value of cigarette sales to the V.I. treasury at about $20 million a year.
That figure could not be verified with government officials Monday. The Bureau of Economic Development does not keep statistics on tax collections and calls to the Internal Revenue Bureau were not returned.
Westman said it appears the law was directed at wholesalers bringing large quantities of 'for export only' tobacco back into the country and inadvertently caught tourists in a too-wide net.
But it is being enforced at points of entry where disembarking passengers are told to put their cigarettes into bins as they go through Customs, he said. Not even an open pack gets by.
The penalty for ignoring the law is a fine equal to five times the value of the tobacco product or $1,000, whichever is greater.
"I doubt seriously that anyone has been penalized" with a fine, Westman said, but their cigarettes are being confiscated.

A large part of the Virgin Islands tourist tobacco industry may have been shot down by federal legislation that apparently was aimed elsewhere.
A new federal law makes it illegal to bring American tobacco back into the country if it bears a stamp saying it was originally sold for export only.
"All the American cigarettes sold in the Virgin Islands, as far as we can tell, are 'for export only'" William Westman, chief inspector for U.S. Customs based in St. Thomas, said Monday.
St. Thomas retailer Vinnie Mohanani said he learned of the new law over the weekend when a cruise ship passenger visiting his Vissal Duty Free Shop remarked that it was a shame he couldn't take advantage of the low prices on cigarettes. The visitor had been told on board the ship that he would not be allowed to take American tobacco products back home.
The ban covers sales both on islands and on ship.
Mohanani faxed a letter to Customs in St. Thomas asking if the law applies here.
"We're trying to get it clarified," Westman said, adding that V.I. Customs staff had been on the phone much of the day Monday. "We have our counsel looking at it" as well as management staff in Puerto Rico.
Westman said his office had not been formally notified about the law but "we heard rumblings about it" because "they are strictly enforcing it in Florida."
American cigarettes brought into the territory for resale are exempt from the Internal Revenue Tax and from duty. Westman said the IRT is $2.40 for a carton of small cigarettes and $5.04 per carton of large cigarettes. The duty is 2.8 percent of the value, plus $1.26 per kilo.
The exemptions translate to a savings of about $8 a carton, a difference that makes it easy for V.I. retailers to give tourists a bargain. The territory long ago developed a reputation as a good place to shop for cigarettes.
"This obviously is going to have a very big impact" on the territory, Westman said.
Between excise and gross receipts taxes, Mohanani estimated the value of cigarette sales to the V.I. treasury at about $20 million a year. That figure could not be verified with government officials Monday. The Bureau of Economic Development does not keep statistics on tax collections and calls to the Internal Revenue Bureau were not returned.
Westman said it appears the law was directed at wholesalers bringing large quantities of 'for export only' tobacco back into the country and inadvertently caught tourists in a too-wide net. It is being enforced at points of entry, where disembarking passengers are told to put their cigarettes into bins as they go through Customs, he said. Not even an open pack gets by.
The penalty for ignoring the law is a fine equal to five times the value of the tobacco product or $1,000, whichever is greater.
"I doubt seriously that anyone has been penalized" with a fine, Westman said, but their cigarettes are being confiscated.

A large part of the Virgin Islands tourist tobacco industry may have been shot down by federal legislation that apparently was aimed elsewhere.
A new federal law makes it illegal to bring American tobacco back into the country if it bears a stamp saying it was originally sold for export only.
"All the American cigarettes sold in the Virgin Islands, as far as we can tell, are 'for export only'" William Westman, chief inspector for U.S. Customs based in St. Thomas, said Monday.
St. Thomas retailer Vinnie Mohanani said he learned of the new law over the weekend when a cruise ship passenger visiting his Vissal Duty Free Shop remarked that it was a shame he couldn't take advantage of the low prices on cigarettes. The visitor had been told on board the ship that he would not be allowed to take American tobacco products back home.
The ban covers sales both on islands and on ship.
Mohanani faxed a letter to Customs in St. Thomas asking if the law applies here.
"We're trying to get it clarified," Westman said, adding that V.I. Customs staff had been on the phone much of the day Monday. "We have our counsel looking at it" as well as management staff in Puerto Rico.
Westman said his office had not been formally notified about the law but "we heard rumblings about it" because "they are strictly enforcing it in Florida."
American cigarettes brought into the territory for resale are exempt from the Internal Revenue Tax and from duty. Westman said the IRT is $2.40 for a carton of small cigarettes and $5.04 per carton of large cigarettes. The duty is 2.8 percent of the value, plus $1.26 per kilo.
The exemptions translate to a savings of about $8 a carton, a difference that makes it easy for V.I. retailers to give tourists a bargain. The territory long ago developed a reputation as a good place to shop for cigarettes.
"This obviously is going to have a very big impact" on the Virgin Islands, Westman said.
Between excise and gross receipts taxes, Mohanani estimated the value of cigarette sales to the V.I. treasury at about $20 million a year. That figure could not be verified with government officials Monday. The Bureau of Economic Development does not keep statistics on tax collections, and calls to the Internal Revenue Bureau were not returned.
Westman said it appears the law was directed at wholesalers bringing large quantities of 'for export only' tobacco back into the country and inadvertently caught tourists in a too-wide net. It is being enforced at points of entry, where disembarking passengers are told to put their cigarettes into bins as they go through Customs, he said. Not even an open pack gets by.
The penalty for ignoring the law is a fine equal to five times the value of the tobacco product or $1,000, whichever is greater.
"I doubt seriously that anyone has been penalized" with a fine, Westman said, but their cigarettes are being confiscated.

The names of four St. John residents have been sent by Gov. Charles W. Turnbull to the 23rd Legislature for approval to serve two-year terms on the St. John Coastal Zone Management Commission.
Two current commission members, St. John administrator Julien Harley and Myrah Keating-Smith Clinic manager Marquise Calhoun James, have been named to continue on the panel for another term. The governor named attorney Brion Morrisette to succeed Alline W. Thurlow, and Madaline H. Sewer to succeed Paul Thomas.

Territorial Court Judge Alphonso Andrews last week granted Gov. Charles Turnbull’s request for 60 more days to devise a park plan for government land on Great Pond Bay.
After blocking the exchange of public property at Camp Arawak between the V.I. government and Beal Aerospace on Dec. 15, Andrews gave the administration 60 days to pick a department to come up with a "flexible, comprehensive master plan for the use of the property and structures as a park facility."
Turnbull chose the Department of Housing, Parks and Recreation to draft the plan. Commissioner Ira Hobson selected, among others, Raymond "Usie" Richards and Valmy Thomas to sit on the task force.
Late last week, Hobson said the task force had submitted – within the court-ordered deadline — its recommendations to him and he subsequently turned the plan over to Turnbull.
"I wanted to make sure we didn’t let the time line pass," Hobson said. "It’s for him (Turnbull) to reject, accept or alter the plan."
Since the plan was turned in, however, the administration requested an extension from the court. Andrews granted a 60-day extension on Feb. 22, according to Andrews’ law clerk. Neither Hobson nor Turnbull assistant James O’Bryan Jr. could confirm whether Turnbull has seen the plan. The governor left the territory last week to attend the Southern Governors' Conference in Washington, D.C.
"I don’t really want to tell anybody what the plan is before it goes to the governor," Hobson said.
In his order, Andrews stipulated that the plan must include a means of funding and that money collected for the plan must be deposited in a separate account independent from the V.I. government’s general fund.
Hobson conceded that money is the biggest obstacle a future park faces.
"We don’t have money to do this," he said. "However, that doesn’t preclude us from planning it. And that’s what the task force did, they gave us a layout.
"Basically the plan is a good plan. It’s simply a matter of once we have the money it’s doable."
The 14.5 acres, commonly called Camp Arawak, was donated to the people of the Virgin Islands by the late Frank Wiesner in 1974. The deed stipulated that the property, which contains the ruins of a Danish colonial-era great house and other cultural and archeological artifacts, was to be developed into a park.
Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and the government’s cash shortfalls, however, have left the great house in disrepair and the property undeveloped.