THE HIGH COST of repairing the environmental damage caused by oil slicks or sewage discharge is not reflected in the fines imposed by our "outdated" anti-oil pollution law.

In the opinion of Senator Frank Alleyne, the penalties for dumping oil are "essentially of nuisance value".

He made this observation in a paper he presented last year on Barbados' environment and development. He was referring to the Oil in Navigable Waters Act, passed in 1927 and amended in 1960. The Act punishes offenders who discharge oil into the sea or on land with a $480 fine.

"No satisfactory administrative arrangements were made for ensuring that the provisions of the Act were implemented fully," the Government senator writes.

Alleyne argues that effective coastal surveillance is the key to apprehending offenders, particularly oil tankers that dump residual deposits of oil as they pass through the Caribbean Sea, causing dangerous oil slicks.

"It appears desirable, and more cost effective, for Caribbean countries to mount a regional effort at coastal surveillance in view of their proximity and common interest in protection of the marine environment, their tourism industries, and narcotics interdiction.

The economist also zeroed in on the National Conservation Commission (NCC) and the police, suggesting a collaboration between the two agencies and the Town and Country Planning Department to give the NCC's legal powers some teeth.

"Recent developments have shown that large-scale indiscriminate dumping of rubbish and other types of wastes in gullies pose a major threat to health and warrant the concern of the commission."

Alleyne concludes: "Unless adequate measures are implemented to deal with this problem, both the tourism and related industries and fishing are likely to suffer setbacks in the medium- to long-term. Also too, there is the problem of coastal erosion which is likely to be accelerated as coral reefs are injured by pollution."

Last month, Deputy Prime Minister Philip Greaves announced that the 66-year-old oil pollution law will be replaced with one drafted in line with international conventions on marine pollution which Barbados has signed.