IGIA meeting highlights NMI water problem

The Interagency Group on Insular Areas recently held its initial meeting on the CNMI’s water problems where the severity of the problem was acknowledged and the need for federal assistance was stressed as paramount if the problem is to be solved.

CNMI Resident Representative Pete A. Tenorio said the group also developed a plan of work that will allow them to meet the July 31, 2005 deadline that was set by the U.S. Congress to come up with a guideline on how to improve the water systems in the CNMI.

The IGIA, through Interior Secretary Gale Norton, has been tasked by Congress to develop an implementation plan for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ report on the improvement of water systems throughout the CNMI.

Besides Tenorio, the meeting was attended by representatives from the Office of Insular Affairs, Environmental Protection Agency, US Department of Agriculture-Rural Utilities Service, Housing and Urban Development-Community Development Block Grant, and the Army Corps of Engineers. Participating via telephone were CNMI Water Task Force members Felix Sablan and Don Smith.

In his opening statement on the need for an interagency response to the deplorable water conditions in the CNMI, Tenorio said the need for drinkable public water supply in the CNMI is basic but the problems are so severe that only through federal attention and intervention will it become possible.

“I appreciate the significance of this historic mandate by Congress to address these problems and commend David Cohen for his rapid response in calling this meeting,” he added.

Cohen acknowledged that the problem needs a structured financial plan that would include federal assistance to address the issue.

The next meeting will take place on Feb. 11 where the CNMI Water Task Force will be asked to present the current state of water improvements made in the CNMI with respect to the COE report. Tenorio has invited WTF chair Lt. Gov. Diego T. Benavente to attend the meeting in person as it coincides with the National Lt. Governors Association winter meeting to be held in Washington, D.C.

After the meeting, Tenorio met at length with John McCarroll, Pacific Islands Office manager, EPA Region IX in San Francisco, Calif. “Mr. McCarroll has been extremely helpful and continues to be a valuable resource in the quest for clean, drinkable water for all our island residents,” Tenorio said.

“I am pleased that so many federal officials attended this meeting and that they share our concerns for the health and safety of the people in the CNMI,” he said.