Previous Story
Efforts to restore Saipan lagoon gear up
|
Posted on Jun 14 2004
Representatives of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and its consultant will meet with various sectors on Saipan beginning today to discuss about proposed projects to mitigate the impact of stormwater runoff on the Saipan Lagoon.
Coastal Resources Management Office’s Benny Pangelinan said yesterday that the Army Corps and consulting firm Environet would meet today with members of the CNMI House of Representatives.
Pangelinan said the Army Corps would brief lawmakers about possible project options, including the installation of biofilter retention system and construction of ponding basins.
In the biofilter retention system, runoff water undergoes a filtration process before it is discharged to the lagoon, Pangelinan said. A ponding basin collects runoff water, allowing sediments and solid particles to settle at the bottom before the release of runoff to drainages.
Pangelinan said the Army Corps is looking at three potential project sites, including Quartermaster, Gualo Rai and an abandoned quarry site near Sugar King Park.
He said there is heavy concentration of runoff on these sites, based on a study in relation to the Army Corps’ Saipan Lagoon Aquatic Restoration project.
The Army Corps would discuss the project options and funding issues with lawmakers, Pangelinan said. The Corps will also meet today with CRM agencies, which include the CRMO, Division of Environmental Quality, Historic Preservation Office, the Commonwealth Utilities Corp., and the departments of Public Works, Lands and Natural Resources and Commerce.
The Army Corps would later on come up with conceptual designs for the chosen options, said Pangelinan. The meeting, which is scheduled to begin by10am, will be held at the Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe.
The Army Corps began surveying several areas from Quartermaster to Garapan in 2002 to determine the concentration of runoff flowing into the lagoon. As part of the process, Army Corps representatives entered several private lands between Middle Road and Beach Road, coincidentally discovering prehistoric tombstones at the China House site.
