And in other news, yesterday we told you about the oil spill into Coffin Creek which leads to the Mopan River in Benque Viejo Town. The Department of the Environment had issued a press release pointing out that it originated from a site managed by Westline Bus Company, and that the company did not report it to them.
But according to the proprietor of Westline, Sergio Chuc, they weren't trying to hide anything, it just so happened that a concerned resident reported it before they had the chance to, since they launched straight into trying to contain the spill.
And Chuc further explained that it seems the valve on the storage tank containing the oil - which was already old and corroded - was damaged. He emphasized that the spill was not deliberate and mentioned that they would be taking measures to ensure this does not happen again.
We spoke to him via Zoom today and he explained more:
Sergio Chuc, Proprietor, Westline Bus Company
"The engine, every 5,000 or so miles we have to change the oil so we keep a storage tank of approximately 1,000 gallons. On this particular occasion, there was anywhere between 100-150 gallons of burnt oil in the storage tank. Over the weekend with the flooding and the bad weather, there was nobody at the garage and on Tuesday afternoon when the mechanic appeared, went to see the site and see what was up, he realize that the valve on the tank was broken and the oil had seeped out and unto the drain. That went down to the creek that leads to the river. Early in the morning, we got out crew/workers to start cleaning up and at the same time the Ministry of the Environment showed up because somebody had reported it which they are within their rights to report for the wellbeing of the community and the crew from the environment greatly assisted with the cleaning up. At this stage basically I think 90% or so of the spill has been cleaned up. The fact is we don't really know how much oil was thrown into the ground and unto the highway, it could have been anywhere between 100-150 gallons. Nobody was at the garage, and as soon as we found out about it, well my mechanic he started to put his workers of his to clean up but by the morning when they started, that is when the Ministry of the Environment was already there so I guess they beat us to the punch on that so it's not nothing that we are hiding or trying to hide, we are fully cognizant that accidents do happen. It is not a major oil spill nothing was contaminated; it did not reach the river. The soil around the tank is going to be treated at a proper treating facility. It is not a lot of soil, it should be about 1 truck load of materials so it's nothing to be really concerned about, but from the company's side and from the Ministry of the Environment, I think they will ensure that we put the proper mechanisms in place so that this does not occur again. From our side, we are ready to carry out their advice, right now we are starting on a containment area of which the tank will be placed so that something like this does not occur any other time."
We also asked Chuc if he felt he was being targeted - perhaps for his political affiliation - since yesterday's release from DOE, which singled Westline out, was unusually quick, especially since the department is not known for rapid public relations responses:
Sergio Chuc, Proprietor, Westline Bus Company
"I was really shocked when I saw the release from the Ministry of the Environment because I was trying to call the officer in charge Mr. Edgar Eck from 4pm to 5pm and they put us through several times but never got connected. I had already received the stamp order from the Ministry of the Environment in the afternoon and so we knew what to do. I have been in the fuel industry for many years, and I know that this has happened with gasoline spills in different stations all around the country. We know how to handle it, we know how to take care of it but there is never a release put out so suddenly when a minor spill like what occurred here was put out. So, indeed I was shocked that it was done, I don't know if it was because of the municipality that had posted it on their Facebook page and that kind of brought some pressure on the Ministry of the Environment but they are within their right to do that and the public should know what is happening. It is their concern, I think we are an environmentally conscious community especially here in the Western part of the country. We have a lot of conservation areas and so there are people that hold this dear to their heart and possibly that is one of the reasons why they pushed it that fast. I am hoping that its nothing malicious, I know that Channel 7 has a way of looking into things from different angles, but I am hoping that they are just doing their job."
Chuc also added that he does expect that they will have to pay a small fine, and admitted that they do have to be more careful with their oil storage.
