Mountains of garbage continue to grow on St. Croix as the government searches for a solution to a seven-day-old trash haulers strike.
Four trucking companies owed more than $2 million went on strike last Wednesday after a Turnbull administration aide told senators they wouldn’t be paid because there were no contracts in place to pay them. The strike came on the heels of a fire that had erupted at the Anguilla Landfill the Friday before.
Because of the fire, officials stopped accepting new loads at the landfill. Its closure and the ensuing strike have caused trash collection sites around the island to overflow with cascading piles of garbage and debris.
As of Monday, the haulers were steadfast in their refusal to go back to work for a government that owes them millions of dollars going back to September and, in some instances, as far back as 1995. According to the St. Croix Avis, the government late last week had approved contracts that would pay the haulers for five months of work through the end of February. However, the checks were not expected to be issued until Wednesday.
Some residents, fearful of a potential outbreak of disease from the piled garbage, have torched the accumulated garbage. Fires have been reported at several collection sites since last week.
The trash haulers struck twice last summer to get paid for work dating back to 1995. That stoppage ended after Lt. Gov. Gerard Luz James appropriated approximately $420,000 and arranged new hauling contracts.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, meanwhile, was on St. Croix Monday setting up monitoring devices to test air quality downwind of the problem-plagued landfill. While Fire Service officials said the methane gas fire was extinguished, some smoke was still wafting into the air.
Also on Monday, EPA officials met with Lt. Gov. James to discuss an array of environmental problems facing the territory, including the solid waste dilemma and sewage treatment problems.
James said the EPA was considering "two possible actions against the Virgin Islands government, namely the Departments of Public Works and Education…" He did not give details.
For at least six months, Public Works has been discharging hundreds of thousands of gallons of sewage into the sea because of problems with its wastewater collection system. The Department of Education was recently out of compliance for organic compounds in drinking water at a school on St. Thomas.
"As a government it’s imperative that we are more vigilant in terms of our duties and responsibilities," said James. "Particularly as they pertain to complying with federal and local environmental concerns with reasonable time limits. Now we must move expeditiously to resolve these issues pending" with the EPA.