The site proposed for the Port of Spain Dry Docks on Sullivan Island is just West of a large mud flat which has been forming at the estuary of the Caroni River over the past forty-five (45) years. Conceivably, the natural progression of this accretion would have caused the establishment of this mud flat to extend to and cover the site of the proposed Sullivan lsland, over the next twenty (20) years. The Environmental Management Authority of Trinidad and Tobago has issued TDDCL its Terms of Reference for the conduct of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), a prerequisite for the grant of a Certificate of Environmental Clearance.
The Island will be located approximately 750 metres west (offshore) of the Caroni Swamp, a large wetland region having as an integral part the estuary of the Caroni River.
No major environmental impacts are envisaged from the construction of Sullivan Island or from the operations of the Port of Spain Dry Docks. Yet, nothing is being left to chance, as exhaustive studies are being commissioned by an experienced team of Environmental Scientists, under the closest scrutiny of the Environmental Management Authority of Trinidad and Tobago. Their Terms of Reference for the study was issued in January 2014, and studies are to commence imminently.