Rose Island Resort Development - ESS Group, Inc.

The intent is to build a mixed-use development on Rose Island, which is located approximately 5 miles east of Paradise Island. The development scheme encompasses approximately 300 acres and includes a hotel resort, condominiums, estate homes, a beach club marina, and associated infrastructure.

ESS field efforts initially focused on collecting baseline data on existing land uses, water quality conditions, biological resources (marine and terrestrial biota), vegetation cover types, and characteristics of nearshore wave, tide, and current regimes

As part of the EIA process ESS evaluated the potential impacts of the Rose Island Resort and associated infrastructure on the following resources:

Land Use/Topography
Geology, Soils, and Sediments
Water Resources and Water Quality
Air Quality Resources and Noise
Groundwater Resources
Marine Waters
Seabed Characteristics
Oceanic Conditions
Terrestrial Biological Resources
Aquatic/Marine Biological Resources
Socioeconomics

ESS has worked closely with the team's civil engineers, land planners, and architects to develop the principal components of an Environmental Management Plan (EMP). The EMP contained the pollution controls, environmental management practices, and comprehensive environmental monitoring plans for the protection of resources on Rose Island. ESS has been conducting quarterly environmental monitoring inspections and monthly construction inspections in compliance with this EMP.

As a testament to the technical quality of the EIA and EMP documents, they were conditionally approved by the Bahamas Environment Science and Technology Commission (BEST) in just over three months - a real benefit in advancing the project-s implementation.