St. Maarten Private Eye

I'm no expert, but what I understand is that the more substances you are testing for, the more it costs. A test at Westin to determine their discharge from their sewage plant into their retention hole might not be too expensive, because there is probably no need to test for heavy metals, pcb's etc. When it comes to places like the Salt, Fresh and Belair Ponds, Great Bay and Simpson Bay and Lagoon, there are many tests that need to be done for each location, so the cost mounts up.

The Nature Foundation has a very tight budget, it gets some funds from Govt, it would be a big risky step to get into doing this. I understand SXM Pride got cash donations of about $250 last year, so obviously they don't have any money to do it. Businesses? Well, there have been several calls on here for businesses to get involved, it is after all in their best interest not to see the island turn into a toxic and dirty mess. Haven't heard from anyone here. Residents? Maybe there are one or two who would finance the tests for Dawn Beach and the retention pond.

LH