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EPA weighs options on CUC’s continued violations
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Posted on May 05 2005
Six years after issuing the order over violations at the Agingan sewage treatment plant, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is still weighing its options against the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.
EPA-Pacific Islands officer manager John McCarroll said yesterday that CUC had yet to comply with a 1999 environmental order issued against CUC.
EPA had given CUC until Feb. 28, 2005 to comply with the order. Failure to meet the deadline was supposed to cost CUC a daily fine of $32,500.
However, McCarroll said that while the federal environmental agency has not granted CUC an extension on the deadline, no decision has been made yet on whether or not penalties would be imposed, if at all, on CUC.
However, he added that EPA continues to be in communication with CUC regarding the order.
“EPA is basically weighing its options as to what to do. There are potential enforcement consequences. That’s about all we can say about that right now,” McCarroll said.
EPA issued the order against CUC in November 1999 for its failure to construct an ocean outfall and improve the quality of water effluent being discharged from the Agingan treatment plant into the ocean, and for its inability to match funds for a $1.2 million grant from the environmental agency for Agingan’s plant repairs.
According to CUC, it still needs $3.6 million for the project.
The Feb. 28 deadline was stated in a Sept. 24, 2004 message faxed by EPA environmental engineer Michael Lee to the utility firm.
“CUC needs to take whatever steps necessary to secure adequate funding for construction of the ocean outfall to ensure compliance as soon as possible. Failure to do so may result in EPA elevating this matter, which would result in penalties of up to $32,500 per day per violation,” read a portion of the fax.
In March, the Legislature passed House Bill 14-286, which would reprogram $3.3 million from the Kagman sewer plant project for the construction and repair of the Agingan wastewater treatment facility and ocean outfall.
But the bill has reportedly not been transmitted to the Governor’s Office for approval due to lack of available funds.
