Member of Parliament for the Marathon constituency Jerome Fitzgerald said he is disappointed with officials from Rubis (Bahamas) for refusing to meet with him concerning that oil spill from the Rubis Service Station at Robinson and Old Trail Roads in 2012.

“I am disappointed that Rubis is acting the way they have even with refusing to meet with me and the residents and I’ve told my constituents it is time to hire a lawyer,” he said.

“This is something that I’ve been involved with for some time initially trying to ensure that the residents are financially compensated whether for inconvenience or exposure to any health risk. There was also an issue regarding economic damage because there were businesses in the area that experienced economic loss. So initially, I was just trying to get Rubis to come to a financial standpoint to settle with the residents.”

The minister said he is still waiting to hear the findings of an investigation into the matter in a report from Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson.

He said although many are complaining that the report has been delayed, he has to support her reasons for doing so.

“The deputy of the opposition said in the House of Assembly that we should not question the auditor general or the attorney general,” he said.

“I’m in no position to question the government’s lawyer and I know her well enough to know that whatever the reasons were, they had to be justifiable and that is as far as I will speak on that.”

That spill leaked between 24,000 to 30,000 gallons of gasoline.

Cable Bahamas whose offices are adjacent to that service station has filed a lawsuit against Rubis and the former operator of that station.

Meanwhile, Mr. Fitzgerald said steps are being taken to ensure that residents affected by that spill are also compensated.