Oil spill in Benque caused by Westline Bus Co., says DOE

Black Immigrant Daily News

BENQUE VIEJO DEL CARMEN, Cayo District, Thurs. Oct. 13, 2022

A team from the Department of the Environment (DOE) is on the ground in the Cayo District at this time supervising clean-up activities after a 1,100-gallon container of waste oil owned by Westline Bus Company ruptured. There is no indication how long the oil has been seeping out, nor has there been a confirmation of how much oil has escaped from the compromised tanker located on the company’s compound on the George Price Highway, in Benque Viejo. The DOE release states that the site where the incident took place is on a slope – causing oil to run down into a drain that leads to the Mopan River.

According to the DOE, the spill was not reported by the company. The release from the DOE states that it was yesterday, when personnel from the DOE conducted a site inspection, that an “oil spill which was not reported by the bus company, was observed on the land and discharging into the nearby drain. “

Employees of the company are reportedly assisting the DOE personnel with the clean-up of the location, but a full assessment of the oil spill cannot be made yet, since the quantity of the spilled waste oil has still not been determined.

“There is no indication at this time that the oil has entered into the Mopan River; however, it is possible that contamination can occur once the flood waters recede,” the release from the DOE states.

The DOE further stated in the release that the company kept no record of the amount of waste oil that was stored in the container. Waste oil is classified as a hazardous substance under the Environmental Protection Act (EPA). In a subsequent release, the DOE reminded businesses and the general public that those substances should be stored properly in line with the best practices and standard requirements.

“The contamination of the environment as a result of non-compliance with these requirements may result in prosecution under the Environmental Protection Act,” the release from the DOE stated.

A pollution abatement notice has been issued to the company to ensure that measures are implemented to avoid further impact from the spill. The DOE has also announced that they will seek advice about possible legal action that could be taken against the company under the EPA.

In an interview yesterday evening with KREM News’ Marisol Amaya, however, Sergio Chuc, proprietor of the Westline Bus Co. , said that the oil spill is not the result of negligent disposal practices by the company, but that a crack in the container led to the leakage of a little over 100 gallons of waste oil, and that because of the flooding caused by Hurricane Julia, no one was at the company’s garage over the long weekend to notice.

“Unfortunately, over the weekend, with the heavy rain and the flooding, no one was at the garage, and last night it was found out by the chief mechanic, “ Chuc said. The crack was located near the valve of the 1100-gallon tank that holds all the waste oil from the company after oil changes.

“The tank had a little over 100 gallons of waste oil in it. By this morning when they wanted to deal with it, all the oil had seeped out — this is coming from the garage, and unfortunately it went into the drain,” Chuc went on to say.

According to Chuc, although the entire contents of the container — about 100 gallons of waste oil— leaked out into the drain, the flood water created a blockage that prevented the oil from flowing to the Mopan River, which is about 300 to 400 yards away from the drain.

He therefore suggested that all the oil which leaked out the container is still in the drain.

A cease-and-desist order was issued for the closure of the garage on Westline Bus Company’s premises for 96 hours. The DOE has stated that there is currently no estimated timeline to indicate how long it will take to complete the cleanup of the spill.

According to Chuc, the company does expect to be fined by the DOE.

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