My Fellow Virgin Islanders: (Repost) As you probably are aware, Hovensa agreed to place the assets of the refinery up for sale as a condition of the Fourth Amendment to the original Concession Agreement with the Government of the Virgin Islands. The deadline for that sales process is upon us and we should be focused on what is to take place next. If the sales process fails then our government should position itself to impose the import duties and other taxes as required by law. If the sales process is successful, then it is likely that the new owners will be seeking concession on their required taxes. If that is in fact the case, then we need to ensure that we create a contractual relationship with this new company that is mutually beneficial to both parties but addresses the critical concerns of our community. To facilitate the continued presence of a large industrial operation on our relatively small island, any new concession agreement should address the following areas: Environment. Any new corporate partner must commit to being environmentally sensitive. Our agreement must include transparency in air emissions and groundwater monitoring. It must also include an obligation to support research and analysis of the correlation, if any, of pollution generated at the refinery site and respiratory and cancer-related ailments on St. Croix. Education. The new property owners must make a tangible commitment to developing the workforce on St. Croix through training programs and support for vocational education conducted by the Department of Education. Employment. A new concession agreement should include a binding requirement for the employment of bonafide Virgin Islanders in positions that pay a livable wage. Energy. We must include in these negotiations a strategic partnership to address the power generation needs of the island of St. Croix. The power generating assets at the refinery should be interconnected to the WAPA grid to increase the reliability of the electric system and provide redundancy. Interconnection could allow for the sale of power between WAPA and the refinery as needed. The refinery is also an ideal site for the eventual transition to natural gas power production. Economic Development. A concession agreement should create an avenue for the new corporate entity to partner with the Government of the Virgin Islands in the pursuit of economic development opportunities that are mutually beneficial. Depending on the nature of business being conducted by the new owners, this could be bunkering fuel for cruise ships, operating a regional LNG terminal, supporting cargo transshipment, etc. What is essential is that the new owners see themselves as an economic partner to the people of the Virgin Islands with a vested interest in our joint economic prosperity. There is no time to waste on discussions of what could of and should of taken place in the past. We must focus forward on the opportunities ahead of us and leverage our resources to the greatest extent possible. Novelle E. Francis, Jr. Vote #19
Posted on: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 16:59:04 +0000
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