GreenerVI

WELCOME!

All of us are affected by the air we breathe, the energy we use, the water we drink and our waste disposal system.  We count on you to help us to share information and ideas, so that we all may become more knowledgeable about our islands and coastal waters and what activities would hurt or help the islands, coastal waters, Virgin Islanders, endangered species and our planet Earth.

Our objective at greenervi.org is to create an environmental forum for Virgin Islanders, to share information on environmental issues, and to work with Federal and local agencies to find solutions to our environmental challenges in the United States Virgin Islands.

We have compelling issues before us right now, in regard to waste processing and energy systems. The solutions planned to address these issues now will affect our Territory and our planet for the rest of our lives.  We have an obligation to ourselves, our families and homes, to make the best decisions possible. Many companies have offered plans and services to the Virgin Islands, and some have entered into contracts with our government already.   We can learn about these companies and their services to become more informed and then we can ask our Senators to make decisions based on our real knowledge of the terms being offered.

Message from GreenerVI.org’s President:

GreenerVI.org is working hard to get our utilities to stop polluting, and be energy efficient, cutting our WAPA bills in half. Here is the story with VIWMA:

First the Bad News: VI Waste Management has been dumping raw sewage into our coastal waters on and off for 27 years. Contact with raw sewage can cause many serious illnesses in people including Typhus, Cholera, SARS, Hepatitis, and enlarged heart. Raw sewage contaminates turtles’ food, and kills coral.  Sea turtles and coral are protected under the Endangered Species Act and President Clinton’s Executive Order 13089.

Last year testimony in federal district court revealed that VIWMA pumped out  50 million gallons of raw sewage over Long Reef in St. Croix, between January and March, 2010. There have been unreported dumpings of raw sewage in St. Thomas as well.  People do not know the extent of these “bypasses”, because VIWMA has not been telling the public according to its permit and Court Order. The Federal District Court issued an Order on 3-18-10, which VIWMA promptly violated, refusing to buy required pumps, and refusing to stop dumping raw sewage or informing the public of its actions.

Now the Good News: We at GreenerVI.org have been writing to officials at the EPA for the past year, detailing VIWMA’s continued refusal to buy court ordered pumps, continued dumping of raw sewage, and refusal to give public notice. Despite being handed proof by us that VIWMA was violating all the conditions of the 3-18-10 Court Order, the EPA refused to file for Contempt or enforce the 3-18-10 Court Order.

We filed Suit against VIWMA, DPNR and the EPA

Since the EPA will not enforce the federal order or file for Contempt, Susan K. Wolterbeek, President of GreenerVI.org has filed a Citizen’s Suit in Intervention against VIWMA, DPNR and the EPA, for all violating the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act. We are  asking the Court to place VIWMA into Receivership, order the EPA to pay for the Receivership and all necessary equipment for our wastewater systems, and to force the EPA to consult with National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS, part of NOAA), to begin the research and revitalization of VI coastal waters. The company taking over Waste Management will have transparency, stop dumping raw sewage, and will also give us comprehensive recycling, composting and marine pump-out stations, while closing our unlined dumps.

In his recent Opinion of 3-31-11 Judge Gomez stated:

One of the most precious and visible natural resources that the Virgin Islands possesses is its territorial waters. Beyond their aesthetic appeal, the waters serve as a source of great entertainment, recreation, and food. They also serve as the economic backbone for those whose livelihoods are sustained by its bounty. They are also extremely vulnerable.

Given their important, yet vulnerable position, protection of these waters and the well-being of so many who come in contact with them would seem to be a concern of the Government. That concern is hard to appreciate when the very entity that should serve as a protector is responsible for pumping the staggering amount of 50 million gallons of raw sewage into the Caribbean Sea. Adding insult to that injury is the fact that the bypass discussed herein occurred without notice to the affected public. It is equally hard to appreciate when the bypass of raw sewage seems avoidable with some degree of planning.

It is clear that Judge Gomez cares about our coastal waters. We hope he will soon grant us intervention in the suit, place VIWMA into Receivership, and join the other federal agencies.  The new Salt River National Park is affected by the dumping of raw sewage, and the Department of the Interior (DOI) oversees the protection of our environment. With the National Park Service, the DOI and NMFS jointly sharing in this project along with the EPA, much can be accomplished through federal funding and inter-agency coordination to revitalize our coastal waters.

WE NEED YOUR HELP! Please sign up as members- our position as caring Citizens is that much stronger with hundreds or thousands of members behind us.  We also need your contributions to support us-we are working to better the environment of the US Virgin Islands, where many of you live, and we are also working to lower your WAPA rates. Your support will keep us afloat, and give right back to you through our work.

Together we can make these changes. Thank you. Susan

This site is devoted as a forum and resource for Virgin Islanders. What makes GreenerVI different is that we conduct an extensive legal analysis to engage Federal Agencies to get involved and take a stand on our critical environmental issues.

Please see our Issues Page to read our Legal Briefs on our Waste and Energy crises.  We have already made great strides with Lindbergh Bay and the Senator’s vote on Alpine Energy; a few days after our Letter to the Army Corps of Engineers was published in the VI Daily News, Governor deJongh withdrew the Government’s application to dump dredge spoils in Lindbergh Bay and our legal analysis on Alpine Energy, published three days before the vote, was used to defeat Alpine then.

We Need Your Help!  Please Join Us and Donate.

We travel together, passengers on a little space ship, dependent on its vulnerable reserves of air and soil; all committed for our safety to its security and peace; preserved from annihilation only by the care, the work, and I will say, the love we give our fragile craft.
–Adlai E. Stevenson II, 1965

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Please let us know if there are any inaccuracies on our site; we wish only to tell the truth, with accurate facts which are often difficult to obtain.