The V.I. Water and Power Authority will be blasting on the hillside southwest of the St. Thomas Randolph Harley power plant for the next month in preparation for the upcoming switch to propane for power generation, according to WAPA. WAPA contractor Vitol will begin blasting Wednesday and continue for the next 30 days.

Blasting will be carried out once a day, with the exception of Saturdays, Sundays and the Easter holidays.

Demex Environmental Group, a blasting contractor subcontracted by Vitol, will conduct the blasting at 9:30 a.m. each day, barring any unforeseen circumstances. If there is a delay on a given day, blasting will occur at 12:30 p.m. These blasts will be carried out with very small charges, WAPA said.

"The authority has conducted all necessary safety awareness workshops and drills at the plant facility over the past several days to ensure awareness and safety of WAPA employees and the facility. We do not anticipate any flying objects or any effect on the public or WAPA’s active plant site," a WAPA spokesperson said in a statement.

During the scheduled blasts, traffic on the roadway beside the WAPA facilities will be restricted. WAPA is advising the public that the roadway between WAPA’s plant and Arians Bar, at the entrance of the Texaco bulk storage terminal, will have heavy truck traffic moving material from the blast site to a temporary storage area and to consider avoiding the area and taking a different route.

For more information on WAPA’s switch to propane, visit poweringvi.vi or viwapa.vi.