Sint Maarten - Emergency Debris Management Project : Environmental and Social Management Plan for Rehabilitation and Closure of Municipal Solid Waste Disposal Site

Overview & Synopsis

The development objectives of Emergency Debris Management Project for Sint Maarten are to manage debris from the hurricane and reconstruction activities to facilitate recovery and reduce risks, improve solid waste management capacities and improve waste disposal operations on Pond Island. Some of the negative impacts include: air quality; smoke and fire; landfill gasses; roads and traffic; noise; geology and soils; hydrology and surface water quality; Ecology; Worker Health and Safety; Archaeological, Historic, and Cultural Heritage; and Natural Disaster Risk. Some of the mitigation measures include: Facilitate open forums to the public and stakeholders to freely and openly ask questions regarding impacts from resettlement processes; Cease work if fire breaks out, or if significant smoke formation occurs in the operational area; Use of methane and LEL meters during installation of landfill gas network; Manage onsite parking and the congestion of traffic onsite and offsite; During routine servicing operations, the effectiveness of exhaust silencers will be checked and if found to be defective will be replaced; Fire Suppression of the subsurface fires to prevent void spaces from impacting slope stability; Use of temporary erosion control in areas of work; Monitoring of oxygen levels in GSP and additional measures to increase oxygen levels during installation of ring dike when oxygen levels are too low for aquatic life; Provide all construction equipment, excavators, dozers with enclosed airconditioned cabs and roll-over protection; Keep in place existing Salt Pan structures and cover them without disturbing them with the Ring Dike where necessary; and Conduct regular training and exercises for site staff regarding emergency procedures.