Google will consult the Bermuda Environmental Sustainability Taskforce when an environmental impact assessment begins on a plan to bring a Google cable to Bermuda’s shores.

The multinational will also be holding a town hall meeting to discuss the development on November 9 at 5.30pm at the Open Door Christian Assembly at 13-17 Tommy Fox Road, St David’s.

Google representative Fiona Beck has responded to a query from Kim Smith, director of BEST on why they had not been consulted on a “high level” EIA done when the submarine cable protection zone was established in 2020.

“Who did the EIA?” Ms Smith asked, when approached by The Royal Gazette.

“There are few locals who do that and if Bermuda Environmental Consultants did it, I would be very surprised that they did not contact us. They do for other large and important projects.”

Ms Beck later explained that the agencies involved in 2020 were “largely governmental”.

“The corridor selected was chosen based on where the current cable landed on the island,” she said.

She said another EIA would be done when the permit process begins in the first half of next year.

Cable installation is planned for mid-2025 with a ready for service date planned for 2026.

“We are at the beginning of that process and will be consulting with BEST in due course,” Ms Beck said.

Ms Smith said she would be looking carefully at the planning application when it was submitted.

Google has plans to stretch the subsea Nuvem communications cable from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to Portugal.

It will come ashore, midway, in Bermuda at Annie’s Bay, St David’s and Devonshire Bay, Devonshire. Google plans to purchase land at Annie’s Bay to build a large structure for staff to oversee the operation of the cable.

Ms Smith wanted to know why land in St David’s had been sold to Google rather than leased out.

Ms Beck explained: “The design life of a cable is at least 25 years, and this is a long-term commitment and our land strategy reflects that. We are in the process of procuring our land.”

She said the cable route across the sea floor was subject to approval by the Bermuda Regulatory Authority and had to remain within the Cable Protection Zone defined by the Communications Cables Act 2020.

The two landing points in St David’s and Devonshire were authorised by Bermuda’s Cable Communications Protection Act 2020 with the creation of a submarine cable protection zone.

“All five of Bermuda’s active telecom cables arrive at these same two locations,” Ms Beck said. “The cable protection zone was designed to allow for the installation of five additional cables to those currently in service.”

Annie’s Bay is half a mile north of Clearwater Beach, and a mile from the Cooper’s Island Nature Reserve. It has cultural significance as the last remaining bay from Old David’s.

The American military turned the area into the US Army’s Bell airbase in 1941, significantly reshaping the land. It was later transferred to the US Air Force then, in 1970 to the US Navy. The bay once belonged to Mortimer “Tommy” Fox, known as the “King” of St David’s.

Ms Beck said when it is time to lay the cable, it will not require the evacuation of the popular beach.

She said the submarine cable will be less than two inches in diameter. Cable laid in deep water will be less than one inch in diameter.

“Cable installation in shallow waters will be performed by divers operating from a small local vessel,” Ms Beck said. “The amount of sediment stirred up by the operation will be no more than what is typical for a small boat and dive team.”

She saw no reason for popular Clearwater Beach to close during the cable installation.