March 23, 2009 — An 8,000-pound container of anhydrous ammonia that spilled into the ocean Saturday at the St. Croix Container Port is bad environmentally, but posed no imminent danger requiring immediate public notice, a V.I. Territorial Emergency Management official told a Senate committee Monday.
The Department of Planning and Natural Resources issued an alert Sunday afternoon to avoid swimming and fishing in the area of the container port. (See "DPNR Acknowledges Ammonia Spill at Container Port.")
"What public notice was there of the spill?" asked Sen. Sammuel Sanes, chairman of the Public Safety, Homeland Security and Justice Committee, at the oversight hearing in Frederiksted. VITEMA Director Mark Walters, who had just given senators a general overview of VITEMA operations, referred the question to Jacqueline Heyliger, deputy director for operations on St. Croix, who was on the scene immediately after the spill.
"Notification did not happen because there was really and truly no threat to the community," Heyliger said. "This decision was based on the evaluation of the U.S. Coast Guard, which was there on the scene. It was the determination of Hovensa personnel as well, who were there to help with the cleanup, that it was not a danger to the community."
The lighter-than-air ammonia gas was being released from a damaged valve in small quantities over time and dissipating rapidly, she said.
"What if it had been a more serious incident?" Sanes asked.
"We would have called the governor and gone on the local radio stations immediately," Heyliger said. "And the governor and Homeland Security would have made announcements to the community as well."
The four-ton tank of pure ammonia was being unloaded by crane from a Tropical Shipping vessel by Tropical Shipping personnel when it slipped in its straps and struck something, damaging the tank's valve and releasing the gas, she said. The tank then fell in the water, continuing to jet ammonia gas into the water and air.
Household ammonia is about two-percent strength. Hence 8,000 lbs. of pure ammonia in gas form, if it were entirely dissolved in the sea, would be the equivalent of spilling roughly 50,000 gallons of household ammonia, or two large tank trucks. Much of the gas purportedly bubbled into the air, lessening the immediate impact. DPNR strongly advises the public to avoid fishing, swimming and boating in and around the V.I. Port Authority's Container Port and boat ramp areas until further notice. In other news from the oversight hearing, Gov. John deJongh Jr. proposed legislation to reorganize emergency management in the territory.
"The reorganization will consolidate VITEMA, the Virgin Islands Office of Homeland Security, the 911 call centers and the Office of Management and Budget's Public Assistance Grant Program," Walters said.
In the years since Sept. 11, 2001, the Adjutant General of the V.I. National Guard has been drawn more and more toward national security and territorial military-security issues, Walters said. So separating VITEMA from the Guard and elevating it to a separate cabinet position makes operational sense, he said.
No votes were taken and no legislation was pending at the oversight hearing. Present were Sanes and Sens. Nereida "Nellie" Rivera-O'Reilly, Carlton "Ital" Dowe, Alvin Williams, Michael Thurland, Terrence "Positive" Nelson, Usie Richards and Celestino White.
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