The following email was received from Mr. Jacob Silver who is a principal with NBP Investments on 13 August 2009. The email states that an EIA is being submitted to DOE. The page will be updated when we receive updated information on this project from NBP and/or DOE. From: J. Silver/NBP Investments [mailto:jsilver@nbpi.net]
You fail to see the point- 1. The DOE did not receive the EIA documents yet, if you check my former document you will see. Please feel free to contact Thom from EcoWorks to verify that. 2. Our website is not used currently and will be updated after the EIA is completed. It will be updated and you will be informed then. 3. The address you use is not used by us and has no relation to us forover 2 years. And yes your site takes a defamatory approach towards our development and while your point is true that the best defense to defamation is the truth, the best case for defamation is also the truth. Please note that we will have our lawyers contact you if changes are not made. If you have questions or concerns please contact us and we will gladly assist or referyou to a source in Belize that can further assist you. Regards, Jacob  Condos and lots will be sold either as time shares or "investment shares." The developer is NBP Investments, Ltd., with a corporate address of 210 Lorine Lane, Malibu, California.  (The Punta Negra Village Council Chairman says there has never been an existing waterway in this area.) Belize Department of Geology has already issued a premit for dredging of 9700 cubic yards for fill for this supposedly pre-existing waterway. Total to be dredged of approximately 49,700 cubic yards.  Schedule I, Section 8(h) of Belize Environmental Impct Assessment (EIA) regulations mandates a full EIA for construction of hotels, resort facilities and golf courses within or in close proximity of the boundaries of a protected area or world heritage site. Schedule I, Section 9(a) of the Belize EIA regulations mandates a full EIA when dredging for land reclamation and/or creation projects will use a volume of material of more than 50,000 cubic yards along the coast, cayes and ecologically sensitive waterways. However, the Department of the Environment has not required a full EIA to be performed, even when mandated by its own regulations. Further, the proposed developments include two 120-foot jetties to be constructed in the Caribbean Sea to prevent the access canal for the site from being filled in by sand. These jetties could cause erosion of properties to the south, but no studies have been undertaken to assess the effect of these jetties on neighboring properties. In addition, the developer has not identified any measures to prevent or mitigate downstream erosion. Also, a small, freshwater lake is adjacent to the property. This lake includes Bay Snook (rare in Belize) and tarpon, both of which are fished by tourists from Monkey River and Placencia. According to the Department of Geology, the dredging permit it issued to deepen the allegedly pre-existing canal does not allow the developer to connect the freshwater lake to the Sea because doing so would destroy the existing ecology of the lake. However, the developer DID connect the lake to the Caribbean. Fortunately, a hue and cry was raised by local residents which forced the developer to fill in the connection. Finally, the purchase, financing and development information sent to prospective purchasers does not match the information submitted to DOE (see attached). (DOE says that it's not its responsibility to monitor this type of thing.) The current status of the approval of this project by DOE is unknown. A meeting was held in Punta Gorda on Friday, 27 March 2009 among TIDE (Toledo Institute for Development and the Environment), Punta Negra representatives and the developer. According to reports from people who attended the meeting, very little information was provided by Phoebe Desent, the developer's representative, and the information that she did present conflicted with information on the Astera Website (www.asteraretreat.com). |