Who will pay the piper?

History has been written and Act I of the play has just concluded to a thunderous round of critical review. Oh, what’s that? You were asleep through Act I? Well, here is a simplified review of Act I (Act II will start immediately after this short intermission while some in the audience are brought up to date):

In Act I, the scene opened some 30 years ago when the U.S. federal government gave the newly ordained CNMI $150 million to create the base of its infrastructure: CUC. Throughout Act I, scores of persons of dubious ability; dubious character or both managed to drive CUC along the highway of negligence to an early grave. With no maintenance of equipment, poor and strange fiscal handling and a complete lack of foresight; with no investment in community and left to the mercy of worldly trends, CUC came to the end of its rope.

Move to present day: close to the precipice of extinction and with the public clamoring for relief, not only from outrageously high rates, but a much ballyhooed impending power plant explosion, a “state of emergency” was declared, laws, regulations, and board authority suspended, the majority of an unwitting but willing Legislature, in a move akin to taking candy from babies, coughed up the funding and lo, there appeared additional electricity from a two-year old bid process and a contract with Aggreko International. As the curtain rang down on Act I, at least two befuddled legislative members were seen muttering in barely audible tones: “a $250 million price tag…..will not hurt the winning bidder” (Variety; 10/3/08), thus leaving our audience at fever pitch wondering what was being sold.

You don’t want to miss Act II (coming up next). There is an “all-star” cast of characters: Tony Muña starring in his biggest role ever as CUC director; Stephen Dunlop as Aggreko International sales manager, Asia Division; Nikolao Pula for the Feds in a supporting actor role; Governor Fitial as himself (in minor cameo appearances); maverick legislators as themselves; the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ensemble, and introducing, in their first major role, Ed and Jane Q. Public.

Act II; Scene 1 opens with our star player, Tony Muña, crooning one of his now familiar banal decrees: “Because it is only temporary, the installation of the Aggreko generators may not need the approval of the Environmental Protection Agency. An application for an EPA clearance will be required if Aggreko will operate after 12 months” and “The situation can be waived to satisfy EPA compliance,” adding that the governor’s declaration of emergency would also allow for an exemption from EPA compliance (Variety; 10/2/08).

To set the stage for scene 1, unbeknownst to the players, the following telephone conversation has occurred behind the scenes. Dialing: 1-919-541-2469, a direct line to Ms. Melanie King, an official with the EPA’s Energy Strategies Group in North Carolina (this group regulates mobile and stationary non-road engines). Ms. King explains that these engines (Aggreko’s) are regulated under 40 CFR, part 60, section iiii. “We really need to know the date of manufacture of these engines to be certain, but there is no such thing as an exemption to regulation by the EPA because of any perceived ‘temporary’ nature of the units or for units built after April 1, 2006 and these units MUST meet EPA tier 1 requirements before being placed into service.” (Mr. Muña stated in Variety, 9/24/08: “These engines are brand new.”) “While the NMI currently holds an exception from certain limits on the type of fuel used to generate power, there is NO exception to the plant’s emission standards.” What Mr. Muña could be referring to is a statement found in a Cummins Company newsletter that: “Trailerized engines and generator sets are considered to be stationary when they are installed at a single location for more than 12 months.” But, this has nothing to do with the fact that these units are subject to EPA regulation for emissions under the Clean Air Act (CAA) regardless of the time of usage (other than as standby emergency generators used less than 200 hours per year) and regardless of the amount of emissions produced.

To add further drama for scene 1, a second telephone conversation occurs (also behind the scenes). Dialing: 1-415-947-4106, a direct line to Mr. Charles Aldred, an official with the EPA’s Region IX Air Quality Enforcement Office in San Francisco. Mr. Aldred, after being informed of the situation, explains that the region IX EPA office should have been contacted FIRST, prior to installation, either by the Governor (setting the stage for his first cameo appearance—which never occurred), or by the NMI’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ—who never appears on stage). Mr. Aldred explains that a temporary “waiver” of some restrictions “might have been allowed considering the emergency nature of the situation”, but that it would necessarily be coupled to a requirement to use engines approved for use in the USA and a program of intention to immediately comply with tier 1 requirements through testing and certification.

He also explains that the governor’s “declaration of a state of emergency” would in no case allow for federal laws to be by-passed or ignored. They still apply, and the instant that switch was thrown to turn on the units without contacting the EPA first, the NMI probably put itself in violation of EPA regulations—again. Other EPA ensemble members included a chorus of support from Mr. Alan Rush (EPA Air Quality Standards Office in Washington, D.C. at 1-202-564-1657) and Ms. Jackie Scott (EPA Air Division Director’s Office in San Francisco at 1-415-947-8715). The switch is thrown in the governor’s first cameo appearance (Tribune; 9/12/08) (but not his first act of defiance).

As the scene winds down, Nikolao Pula enters, stage right, and congratulates director Muña, Governor Fitial (in a second cameo appearance) and the legislative leadership on saving the NMI from certain disaster by how quickly they had implemented a LEASING deal for millions of dollars while rejecting ownership offers from Telesource and Caterpillar that were deemed “too reasonable and cost effective” for a part in this play. In Mr. Pula’s only other spoken line, he exclaims: “I’m impressed with how clean the systems are!” (Tribune; 9/24/08). Curtain drops as Mr. Pula holds out the possibility of a few more millions of dollars as reward for an admirable ability of the NMI to squander federal dollars in the manner of its mentors, Messrs. Abramoff and DeLay. Mr. Pula quickly exits, stage left, in a successful attempt to avoid the outstretched hands of Ed & Jane Q. Public.

Scene 2; As the curtain rises, our star, Mr. Muña, opens with the following statement in a vain attempt at self-defense and to distract attention away from CUC by an already irate audience (in a show of indignation, the audience had refused to applaud after the last scene): “I sought guidance from the Division of Environmental Quality (DEQ) even before the arrival of the Aggreko units on Saipan. DEQ was handling that for us and I told Rep. Tina Sablan…that we’ve been transparent to DEQ from the beginning. I talked with DEQ about the emission issue and pipeline and the division continues to guide CUC on areas that require compliance or how to get waivers or exemptions.” (Variety; 10/2/08).

Aggreko Sales Rep. Stephen Dunlop (briefly joined by Aggreko site manager, Wayne Lee) in their only appearance, assures the audience that their contract with CUC specifies: that’s CUC’s problem; CUC has given us a very good contract that guarantees Aggreko full payment of electric generation charges ($84,000 per WEEK minimum guaranteed for 52 weeks) and monthly lease rent of $504,000 even if our generators are taken off line or fail to work! (CUC/Aggreko contract; 6/19/08). As they dance off the stage, they exclaim for all to hear; “It was just like Christmas!” It must have seemed so, since these gensets can be purchased brand new for roughly $200,000 each, already container mounted and meeting EPA Tier 1 requirements—IN the U.S.—quoted on 10/3/08 by a Cummins authorized dealer in Tampa, Florida.

The drama unfolds when, although having taken the first step correctly by contacting DEQ, our star is stunned when he suddenly learns that: 1) DEQ had been given a 10-year time frame, plus an additional five-year extension since 1991 under Title V of the CAA to promulgate regulations and get them approved by the EPA in order for DEQ to retain authority for issuance of air quality permits in the NMI, but was the only one of its 55 state level counterparts that never fulfilled the requirements; thus, the authority for such permitting was remanded to the EPA as of Jan. 9, 2006; and, 2) DEQ never contacted the EPA for further guidance or instructions regarding the Aggreko engines (show back-scene of phone call number 2 in scene 1). The curtain falls on scene 2 as our star temporarily forgets his next line.

Scene 3; After a brief recovery from this astonishing clarification, our star, in an attempt to offer some self-justification, sputters the opening phrase: “Since Aggreko turned on its generators their emission remains ‘practically clear’ compared to that of CUC’s power plants.”

Once again our star is horrified when EPA officials explain that there are 188 possible toxic air pollutants under CAA regulations and that most of them are perfectly “CLEAR” gases. The EPA Ensemble continues in harmonic unison: “The primary pollutants from diesel engines are nitrous oxides, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, benzene, hydrogen sulfide, and carbon dioxide. These are all completely clear gasses that can cause direct harmful effects on humans, plants, animals and inanimate objects as well as combine with moisture in the air to form acids that can destroy almost everything (over time) and even kill living coral in the shallow areas of the ocean downwind from the emission source. When you see the “smoke” from the source, that’s the particulate matter that comes from the combustion of the fuel, not the toxic gasses—but that’s bad for you too.” And all that doesn’t even get to the detrimental effect on climate change through contribution to “the greenhouse effect and global warming”!

Our star exults in a sudden moment of enlightenment: “So that’s why the Government created the Clean Air Act!” Exit stage left, curtain descends on Scene 3, Act II. Audience departs in sad astonishment with not a single hand-clap.

What has so far unfolded is only the first two acts of our little drama, but ACT III and beyond should be eye-popping, so stay tuned. The doors are about to open and the returning players for Act III promise to reveal some surprises for the audience. And be prepared for the entry of a new (tongue in cheek) “hero” in our little play—the Public School System portrayed by the venerable Rita A. Sablan in person. Of course, no play would be complete without a “villain”, so enter the Department of Finance (under the direction of Governor Fitial in his third cameo appearance) and portrayed in a rare appearance by the affable Sir Eloy Inos. Some surprise guests may also join the cast. Tickets are still free and readily available, so don’t hesitate, check it out now and get ready for more of the greatest little show on earth!