PCB CONTAMINATION Tanapag residents to pursue lawsuit

The planned lawsuit to seek compensation for victims and cleanup of the polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination in Tanapag will continue despite initial snags due to government inaction, according to Rep. Dino M. Jones.

The chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources as well as the Judiciary and Government Operations Committee had met with the Attorney General Herbert D. Soll and other administration officials to press the issue.

He said he is “disappointed” that the administration has yet to decide whether to accept the offer made by two Texas-based lawyers to assist the CNMI in bringing to court the environmental and public health problem in Tanapag.

“I have expressed my discontentment [during the meeting] because I have been working on this case for the past six years and I want to see this case expeditiously disposed as people’s lives are precious,” Mr. Jones told in an interview yesterday.

Attorneys Charles S. Siegel and Andy Waters were on Saipan early last month on the invitation of Mr. Jones, who is from the same election precinct, 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.

House legal counsel Steve Mackenzie, who has been tasked to coordinate the plan, disclosed to reporters that the contract does not require any expenditure of public funds, but that the lawyers first want to establish attorney-client relationship with the Commonwealth.

To underline its importance, the House has recently adopted a resolution instructing the two legal counsels in the Legislature and the AGO to pursue the case against federal agencies and private companies responsible for the contamination.

Joint work

Mr. Jones said the chief government lawyer has promised to communicate with lawmakers on the status of the proposal from the two lawyers as he noted that it will have to go through procurement rules and regulations.

“We want to sit down with them and approach this issue in a more cooperative way,” he explained. “They have to expedite [the procurement process] because this demands immediate attention by the government.”

The representative also stressed the fact that both Mr. Siegel and Mr. Waters had expressed interest to help the islanders and were convinced that the CNMI has a “strong case.”

“They are awaiting the move by the government… They came here on their own expense to assist the CNMI government and the people. If they win the case, they’ll get paid and if they don’t, they lose their own money.”

In an earlier interview with Mr. Soll, he said that procurement laws will be followed once there is a determination that the government has a “cause of action” to litigate the matter. He added that the finding will be made within the next two months.

On the heels of report that PCB presence in Tanapag is low, Mr. Jones maintained such level of contamination does not mean that the CNMI and federal governments have to stop treating villagers for health problems caused by the highly-toxic chemicals and cleaning up the area.

“The people deserve to be given treatment whether the PCB level is low or high. I will pursue this,” he said.

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.