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Note: Fortis is a Newfoundland based company with property holdings across the maritimes. Check out www.stopfortis.org Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 06:53:40 -0500 From: Ari Hershowitz <arih@csi.com> Dear all, The dry season has begun in Belize, a window of about six months that Fortis could use to begin the first phase of construction on the Chalillo dam. Public pressure is growing quickly and will soon overwhelm the company, so Fortis is ignoring all the laws of Belize and hoping to start construction in the near future. A recent overflight has shown that--without any of the required permits, and with a highly incomplete environmental assessment--Fortis has begun to cut survey lines through the Chiquibul Forest Reserve at their proposed dam site. Belizean newspapers report that the British consulting and construction conglomerate, AMEC, (in clear reciprocity for providing favorable results in its EIA) was given the contract by Fortis to design the Chalillo dam. A new Online petition is showing the opposition to Fortis' plans, especially in Atlantic Canada: www.stopfortis.org/petition.html. Visit this website and add your name, noting your interest in the project and expertise if appropriate. Please pass this message on to all those who might be interested. Fortis' actions are illegal, and concerned citizens in Belize will go to court to hold the company accountable. Support from the international community will help keep the legal process honest and open and help stop powerful forces in Belize from trampling justice. A recent investigation by top geologists in Belize has shown that Fortis provided false information about the dam site geology to Belizean environmental authorities--claiming that the site is made of granite--when in fact no granite is found there-- and claiming that there were no faults at the site, while there are at least three faults at the dam site itself, and one of Belize's largest fault just 1km away. This disregard for the basic science of the dam's foundation shows Fortis' disregard for the truth, and the potential risks that its dam poses to the environment and human lives. On the website, you will find reports from the trip made by Robert Kennedy, Jr. to Belize, as well as excerpts from one of his interviews with a radio show in Belize. Kennedy also participated in the "Save the Macal" river race and spoke with residents in communities downstream from the proposed dam, who were passionate about protecting the river for their children. Please contact me if you'd like further information on these developments. All the best, Ari Hershowitz Director, BioGems Project, Latin America. (202) 289-2388 -- -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- The preceding message was posted on the Sustainable Maritimes mailing list (sust-mar). http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/lists/sust-mar -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- Volunteer moderator: Paul Falvo mailto:sust-mar-owner@chebucto.ns.ca To submit a message to sust-mar (subscribers only!), please send it to: mailto:sust-mar@chebucto.ns.ca PLEASE SEND MESSAGES TO SUST-MAR IN PLAIN TEXT ONLY MESSAGES CONTAINING HTML (MIME) CANNOT BE POSTED
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