V.I. Public Finance Authority board members on Friday approved $150,000 in financing for the V.I. Department of Planning and Natural Resources to purchase two new vessels and fill a gap left by recent legislation.
DPNR’s Division of Environmental Enforcement has been operating without a single vessel in the St. Thomas-St. John District and with only one in St. Croix, Commissioner Jean-Pierre Oriel told PFA board members on Friday during the group’s meeting on St. Thomas.
DPNR requested $500,000 in its recent budget request to purchase three marine vessels for the territory, Oriel said. Legislators approved only $315,000 for DPNR and recently issued an initial payment of $200,000 to the department, Oriel explained.
“We will purchase one vessel immediately and we want to lock down the shipping costs,” Oriel told PFA board members via teleconference. “We will be buying the boats separately but we want to ensure we are not paying three times for shipping costs.”
DPNR’s Division of Environmental Enforcement will purchase the first of three planned vessels soon, and an official is scheduled to travel to the vendor in Puerto Rico next week, Oriel told PFA board members.
Even with the new boat, however, Environmental Enforcement will still only have one operating vessel, Oriel explained.
“We will still only have one functional vessel in the St. Thomas district,” Oriel said. “The additional funding will allow us to purchase another vessel to do more inspections of the off-shore area.”
DPNR officials also hope to purchase a smaller vessel in order to conduct harbor patrols, according to Oriel.
“We haven’t been able to do our harbor patrols and a smaller vessel will enable us to start that up again,” he said.
The requested and unanimously approved $150,000 from the PFA will put DPNR’s Division of Environmental Enforcement in a better position to patrol the territory’s waters, Oriel explained.
“The additional $150,000 would get us to where we’re looking to be in the next three to four years as we identify additional funding for the future,” Oriel said.
PFA members agreed that DPNR needs additional vessels.
“With the increase in marine activity, DPNR needs more vessels in the water,” PFA Chairman Gov. John deJongh Jr. said.
PFA board members voted unanimously to give Seaborne Airlines permission to use King Alley Dock on St. Croix this Saturday. The request was approved with a certificate of insurance and consent from Seaborne clearing the PFA of any responsibility through their use of the dock.
The board also approved DPNR’s request for a Memorandum of Agreement between the PFA and the State Historic Preservation Office. DPNR requested the agreement so the PFA can serve as project manager for SHPO’s renovations to its new office.
In addition to deJongh, Acting Department of Finance Commissioner Muriel Fenton, board secretary Keith O’Neale, recently appointed PFA Executive Director Debra Gottlieb and board counsel St. Croix attorney James Hindels were also present at Friday’s meeting.
