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DEQ updates EPA on dump closure
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Posted on Jun 16 1999
The Division of Environmental Quality is optimistic that the Environmental Protection Agency will accept the revised schedule in the closure of the Puerto Rico Dump.
DEQ Executive Director Ike Cabrera yesterday said he will be sending EPA a copy of the new schedule and give them an update on the administration’s efforts to develop an island-wide solid waste program. EPA is closely monitoring Puerto Rico Dump to prevent it from further polluting Saipan lagoon.
Cabrera said efforts to construct a new landfill in Marpi will prove that the administration is sincere in its plan to close the Puerto Rico dump site. The Task Force on Solid Waste has already announced the hiring of Harding Lawson Associates, a consulting firm based in Hawaii, to develop the design for a new landfill, implement a recycling program and design transfer stations.
The closure of Puerto Rico Dump was among the campaign promises of Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio due to the environmental and health hazards it poses to the population.
The Solid Waste Task Force was forced to scrap the earlier engineering design of Marpi landfill despite the fact that the former administration has already wasted some $1 million because it did not meet the specifications of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Since World War II, the Puerto Rico Dump has been used as a disposal site for military hardware and ordnance, solid waste and some hazardous materials.
Since it is located in the heart of Saipan’s commercial center, members of the hotel industry have expressed concern about the detrimental effects of the dump on the half-a-billion tourism industry.
