Environmental Devastation approved for Cayman Brac

[-hh]

In other words, the Cayman Government has taken another step to destroy
what until recently had been the last protected wetlands on the entire island:

Cayman Brac 'dying on its feet' :: cayCompass.com

Not any surprise - - politically, the "Fix Was In" a few years ago for this to happen. Unfortunately, this is just the way that local politics work in the Caymans and part of the reason why we won't invest any more money in the country.

IMO, here's how this is going to go down:

1. they'll dredge the 'pond' and everyone will conveniently forget that the Crown owns the fill being removed. It will instead go into someone's pocket. I'd not be surprised if the Govt kicks in money, but I suspect this one will be done privately.

2. They'll wait a year, then claim that the deepened pond does not alleviate the smell, and push again for the marina and opening up to the sea. The Dept of Environment in Grand has been removed from review authority, so they'll get it approved this time.

3. Raymond Scott Construction will get a cut of the contracts, since he's not getting his proposed Marina. The Government probably will be paying for sure.

4. There will be talk of another dive operation in the new marina. This all threatens Moses's businesses, so he will need to get his cut somehow.

5. In the meantime, over at the airport, they will have bought new aircraft to "replace" the Twin Otters that currently service the Brac. They also will have had upgraded to permit international service. BUT those new small aircraft have much better flying range than the Otter, and more than what's needed to go to/from Grand Cayman ... golly, why would this be? Well, they're not really to help the Brac, but to open up new service for Caymanians to fly to Cuba and Honduras, which is ZERO help to the tourism industry.

6. Similarly, notice how nothing's been said about the old Divi property? Its waterfront and already has an anchorage sitting fallow. The political move here is probably going to be a bit more letting it "fester"; it will be declared a Public Nuisance and hazard, at
which point the Government may try an 'Eminent Domain' move ... this property will be handed over to the Developer who is highest political favor - that had been DART, although I've not kept track of if they're in with the current political party, or if it will have to
wait for the next election.


-hh

 

[knotical]

see also: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/cayman-islands/438630-environmental-bad-news-cayman-brac.html

 

[-hh]

Yup, that's this same pond. Basically, the 2012 move to de-list it as an officially designated wildlife sanctuary was part of the staging, and this was the next step.



-hh

 

[scubadada]

From the article:
Mr. McLaughlin said Cabinet has given its approval “in principle” to two major projects: the development of a marina next to the Alexander Hotel in the Brac’s Salt Water Pond and the opening of a new airline ticketing center to eventually allow for direct flights from Miami to Cayman Brac.

I'm a little confused about the airline thing, I flew from Miami to Cayman Brac on Cayman Airlines in early February on my way to Little Cayman. It sure beat going through Grand Cayman. They don't fly back to Miami by that route though and we had to go through Grand Cayman What's the airline thing really about?

 

[keyshunter]

You had to fly back through Grand because the Brac airport has no ability to scan baggage. A new security section is being constructed so that they can screen baggage, thus enabling flights to other countries directly from the Brac.

 

[scubadada]

keyshunter,

Thanks very much for the reply, that makes good sense.

 

[-hh]

FYI, do also be aware that the Airport terminal at Grand is having huge capacity issues with long lines at peak departure times (e.g., 11AM-2PM) to get through Security ... plan extra, extra time.

The current excuse from the Cayman Government is that they can't control what arrival/departure times the Commercial Airlines choose to set for their flights. Guess they never heard of varying their landing fee by what time it is - - we've only had that in the New York City airports for, like, a decade.

-hh

 

[caymaniac]

This is the pond that they will turn into a Marina.


Here a more romanticized version of the pond.

 

[Doctorfish]

I think it important to remember that the Brac is economically disadvantaged and needs a boost to it's economy. Having a nice marina complex and easier airport egress will certainly help. As far as the environmental issue, it's too bad but the island is Caymanian so it's their decision.
Coming from the country where they mine oil sands, I cant be overly critical.