Teno says no to proposal to create PCB task force

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio has nixed a proposal by the Legislature to create a local task force to look into the polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination in Tanapag, saying that issues surrounding the problem are currently being addressed by his administration.

But he invited representatives from each chamber to work closely with a local working group tasked with responding to its adverse impact on public health and environment to get lawmakers’ input and recommendations.

The group comprises the Department of Public Health, the Division of Environmental Quality and community representatives of Tanapag, which work hand in hand with federal agencies.

According to the governor, they are actively and diligently addressing the medical and environmental concerns of both government officials and past and present residents of the village.

“The advance planning of this group is paying off. Their progress is promising in terms of finally having this important issue taken seriously and ultimately resulting in actions necessary for resolution,” Mr. Tenorio said in a letter to the presiding offi
cers of the Legislature.

While acknowledging the proposal as “admirable,” the chief executive said the PCB task force envisioned in House Joint Resolution 12-1 is already “in place and doing a fine job.”

Asking the Legislature instead to designate a member from each house to participate in the present group, Mr. Tenorio pledged to instruct them to invite lawmakers to all gatherings related to this issue.

The proposed PCB Elimination Task Force was drawn up by the House of Representatives last March when it adopted the joint resolution offered by Rep. Thomas B. Pangelinan for his constituents in Tanapag.

This would have hastened concrete actions on various problems stemming from the failure by both federal and local authorities to clean up the village of the highly-toxic chemicals.

The House described this task force as one organization the Commonwealth must invest in to “cleanse such toxic exposure to our people and our precious environment.”

Under the proposal, 10 members would have been appointed to the body, including two lawmakers, two representatives from the exec
utive branch, two residents from the Tanapag village and one each from the Washington Representative office, DPH and DEQ as well as one assistant attorney general to serve as legal counsel.

Its main responsibilities had included carrying out an in-depth study on the level of PCB exposure in the environment, offering recommendations on relocating the cemetery and village homes affected by the contamination and possible compensation, and assessing the cost and rehabilitation efforts to clean up the area. The resolution had proposed earmarking a budget of half-a-million dollars to cover operational costs.

Health and environmental problems in Tanapag, a northern coastal village in Saipan, began when an unknown quantity of ceramic capacitors containing PCB oil were shipped to the island in the 1960s by the Department of Defense.