An American proposal for tackling pollution at the former US Naval Annex has been dubbed "useless''.

The US has suggested fencing off possible contaminated areas at Morgan's Point.

But Development, Opportunity and Government Services Minister Terry Lister has dismissed the idea.

Mr. Lister, who has been involved in the clean-up negotiations, revealed the Americans' position during a recent interview.

When the Progressive Labour Party Government took office in November 1998 it resumed talks with the Americans started by the former United Bermuda Party Government.

Last September the new Government asked Britain, who arranged the lease of the Baselands to the Americans, to help in the negotiations, but there has still been no sign of progress.

Mr. Lister labelled the idea of fencing off areas as "useless'' during an interview on the threat of oil pollution to ground water in the Morgan's Point area.

Environment Minister Arthur Hodgson admitted that underground oil storage tanks left by the Americans were leaking but he noted it was difficult to track where the oil was going.

He revealed, too, that last week a fisheries warden saw oil flowing into the Little Sound.

While admitting concern over the matter Mr. Lister pointed out that monitoring has not yet shown the oil to be moving toward any of the 37 public wells in the area or the over 100 private ones.

"We would feel ourselves to be under great pressure if the tests we did started to indicate movements in the wrong directions,'' Mr. Lister said.

"Mr. Hodgson has pointed out that oil had been seen coming out into the Sound but if in fact we had evidence of this moving inland, that would worry us greatly.'' Mr. Lister noted that drilling around underground tanks shown in the map (pictured) had not turned up any oil. "That being the case,'' he continued, "we can still rest easy and sleep nights, but if that changed we would be in a difficult position.'' Both Mr. Lister and Mr. Hodgson pointed out that Government was addressing the matter in a two-pronged approach of negotiations with America and continual monitoring and measuring of the actual sites here in Bermuda.

The ministers would not be drawn on how long they would wait for America to admit responsibility and rectify and the problem but Mr. Hodgson noted that the project was simply too expensive for Bermuda to undertake.

According to the two ministers the clean-up costs would run in the region of $60 million or ten percent of the total budget for expenditure.

"This would be very significant for us,'' Mr. Lister said.

"It means we would be able to build absolutely nothing for a whole year,'' Mr. Hodgson added.

Mr. Hodgson also noted the difficulty raising $60 million dollars would mean to Bermuda's international ratings.

"If we just did this out of deficit financing,'' he said. "It would take the debt from 250 up to 300 and for one thing the amount of debt that a country has determines the ratings and that affects your ability to borrow and it affects the confidence that international financiers place in the economy.

Lister rejects clean-up plan "It would affect our international business it would affect all of our international financial dealings so we think it would have a drastic impact on the economy,'' he continued.

Mr. Hodgson in illustrating the dilemma, acknowledged that by not doing anything, a third of the Island's people would be affected.

"It wouldn't ruin us to a point where we wouldn't survive but you can imagine a third of the country not having access to fresh water,'' he said.

Mr. Lister conceded that the "social cost alone would present a tremendous impact'' and admitted if ground water pollution was detected the Government "would have no other choice'' than to clean it up.

Government environmental engineer Dr. Tom Sleeter said that if oil was detected wells would be closed down.

"The very first thing we would do is close wells to protect the public,'' he said, "and if the oil is moving in that direction (inland) and we are starting to close wells, that basically turns up the heat on the discussions with the Americans.'' Mr. Lister agreed and explained the stance the Americans had adopted.

"Their basic premise is that there is no imminent danger and they have suggested that what we should do with the so-called contaminated areas is to fence them off and don't let people go on them,'' Mr. Lister said.

"It won't do us much good to fence off Bassett's Cave and say you can't go in it and don't walk on top of the land above it, when the problem is seeping through the water and the cracks,'' he continued.

"So the idea of fencing it off is totally useless. If we were experiencing these problems I believe they would come to the table quickly because it would be a real embarrassment to them.

"It is contrary to every report that they themselves have released that says there is no imminent danger.'' Map courtesy of the Ministry of the Environment Oil pollution threat: Map of the former Naval Annex showing wells and bulk underground oil storage tanks.

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