Closest community to Beal facility is 24 miles away PM releases map Stabroek News June 15, 2000 The Beal Aerospace Technologies satellite space port will be located near the third lagoon from the mouth of the Waini River and the closest community to this site is 24 miles away. Prime Minister Sam Hinds yesterday released a digital map with the precise location of the Beal Commercial Space Launch Facility in Guyana. The global coordinates of the centre point of the planned primary site for the facility is N08 degrees, 12 inches 611 seconds and W059 degrees, 24 inches 075 seconds. The largest Amerindian community in Region One (Barima/Waini) is Santa Rosa, some 40 miles from the proposed launch site. Waropoko, Barabina and Morawhanna are 24 miles from the site whereas Mabaruma and Redhill are 27 miles away. Hotokai is 30 miles away and Hobadia, Tobago and Wauna Hill, Kamwatta Hill and Bunbury Hill are all 31 miles off the site. Little Kaniaballi to Small Troolie Creek is 33 miles away, while Asakata is 37 miles off. Sebai is 39 miles from the site, Waikrebi 43 miles, Kwebanna and Koriabo 44 miles and Kokerite 56 miles from the site. These are the more populated communities. Hinds said that based on the data from the Guyana Natural Resources Information Systems (a new agency to be launched which produced the map), none of the Amerindian centres in Region One will be directly affected by the launch site operations. However, the map approximates that there are about 40 farming families along the Waini River and within the buffer area of Beal who will need to be relocated. Hinds said that all the families spoken to were positive about relocation once they were not worst off at the end of the process. Beal has made available US$400,000 for the relocation process. The Prime Minister said that not all of the families within the area were of Amerindian descent. Some were simply farmers who had been using swampland for a period of time before they were forced out because of flooding and loss of fertility of the land. The government, he indicated, will announce the appointment of a resettlement committee shortly, which will include representatives of the affected families. Hinds indicated that while some families would want to be located in an area close to job security, others would prefer cash to relocate to Mabaruma or even the city. The spaceport pad will be located at least a quarter of a mile from the 1000 feet area reserved to protect the shoreline from encroachment of any kind. Hinds said that there is no legitimate evidence available to support claims that the launch site impinges upon historical or archaeological locations of the Warrau people or any of the three Amerindian tribes who inhabit the North-West Region. He said the evidence available shows all of these sites many miles south of the launch site location. Meanwhile, three persons have tendered to do the survey to lay the boundaries for the launch site and the government is expected to chose one. Beal will be required to do its own survey to decide where it will locate its facilities within the site and how much of the area needs to be drained. Asked yesterday about the delay in Beal's application for an interim permit, Hinds indicated this may be a thought out position adopted by Beal as the Environmental Impact Assessment Study was still to be done and permission granted by the US State Department to transfer satellite technology to Guyana. Follow the goings-on in Guyana in Guyana Today