14 January 2007
U.S. Helps Lebanon Complete Oil-Spill Cleanup
USAID experts train, partner with locals to clean historic sites, harbors
Washington -- A team of American and Lebanese workers has completed the cleanup of over 100 kilometers of coastline in Lebanon, stretching from Byblos to Enfeh, contaminated by an oil spill, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) says.
The oil spill resulted from an Israeli missile strike on a power plant on the Lebanese coast in July 2006 that caused the release of an estimated 17.4 million liters of fuel oil into the Mediterranean Sea. The strike took place during several weeks of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
Led by USAID in consultation with the Lebanese Ministry of Environment, the cleanup effort used $5 million of a $230 million humanitarian, reconstruction and security assistance package President Bush pledged to Lebanon on August 21, 2006, according to a January 12 press release from USAID. (See related article.)
Experts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Response and Restoration; the State Department’s Bureau of Oceans, Environment and Science; the U.S. Coast Guard and the Environmental Protection Agency also provided advice.
As part of the project, American workers trained more than 220 local Lebanese laborers, including fishermen, to perform “critical clean up functions,” USAID said. Workers removed more than 36,000 bags of oil-contaminated waste from the coastline and targeted historic and economically critical areas for cleanup efforts.
“Those trained also now possess a valuable skill and will be able to serve as experienced responders for future oil spill operations in Lebanon and internationally,” the release says. Lebanese businesses also provided and operated heavy equipment and offered support services.
Areas affected by the oil spill lay less than 32 kilometers from Beirut, and included commercial harbors, public beaches and historic sites. Workers removed oil and oil-saturated material over half a meter deep from a trench at the Citadel of Anfeh, also known as “Raas Anfeh.” The trench was built for the eastside defense of the citadel, a structure that dates back to the Crusaders of the 12th century.
In the port of Byblos, a United Nations World Heritage Site, workers cleaned and repainted more than 100 damaged fishing boats. Byblos is one of the oldest continuously inhabited ports in the world, dating back 7,000 years to early Phoenician society, according to USAID. Those currently living there expressed gratitude for the cleanup effort.
“We, as citizens of Byblos, are glad for feeling the excellent human relation that happened spontaneously between both Lebanese and Americans,” the general manager of a Byblos hotel said. “We will be more than happy to keep contact with you, as true friends and welcome guests in a peaceful and clean Byblos in Lebanon.”
The full text of the USAID press release and before-and-after pictures of areas affected by the oil spill are available on the agency's Web site.
For more information on U.S. policies, see Lebanon Assistance and Environment.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
