Gov’t still weighing PCB lawsuit

It may be premature for the CNMI government to hire at this time the services of private lawyers in order to seek compensation and demand immediate cleanup of the polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination in Tanapag.

In response to a call from the House legal counsel to forge an agreement with Texas-based lawyers on the proposed litigation, Attorney General Herbert D. Soll said any deal will have to go through local procurement regulations if the Tenorio administration decides to initiate the class-action lawsuit.

“We have no reasons to [sign a] contract with anyone at this point. We are still finding facts to determine whether we as a government has a cause of action. If we do, then we will go through procurement procedure,” he told in an interview yesterday, adding a decision is forthcoming within the next two months.

Mr. Soll’s statement was in reaction to the request from House legal counsel Steve Mackenzie to act on the proposed contract handed in by two lawyers from Dallas who visited the island early last month to check the possibility of filing a suit over the PCB problem in Tanapag.

Attorneys Charles S. Siegel and Andy Waters were on Saipan on the invitation of Rep. Dino M. Jones, chair of the House Resources Committee, following a resolution from the Legislature seeking a legal means to address the contamination in the northern coastal village.

They had conducted an initial investigation on the conditions in Tanapag and met its residents and some government officials to discuss how to go about the planned lawsuit.

While there was no agreement reached during the visit, the lawyers submitted a proposal to the Attorney General’s Office and to Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio concerning their work, according to Mr. Mackenzie who also disclosed that the contract does not require any expenditure of public funds.

But the House, during a session last week, adopted yet another joint resolution compelling their legal counsel and the AGO to pursue the case against federal agencies and private companies which might be responsible for the environmental and health problem in Tanapag.

“If there’s a decision to go forward, there will be a request for proposals for law firms to give [all of] them a fair chance,” Mr. Soll said.

Mr. Mackenzie has underscored the need to strike a deal with the private lawyers in a bid to press ahead with the legal action, noting that there should be attorney-client relationship established between the two parties.

Both Mr. Siegel and Mr. Waters had expressed confidence of putting up a stronger case in proving that PCB contamination in the village has caused learning disability among children, although they said they face an uphill battle to prove that negligence of federal authorities have caused damage to public health.

Amid growing concerns among Tanapag residents, both local and federal authorities in recent weeks have begun to address the problem, such as by opening up a clinic in the village for medical test, gathering of samples of soil and food as well as scheduling a cleanup in the most affected area by July.

PCB’s and dioxins were found in electrical capacitors abandoned by the military during the ’60s on the island. Studies show they caused cancer in animals and that people exposed to the chemical for a long time can experience nose, lung and skin irritation.