Council backs filing of lawsuit

Clamor for the filing of a lawsuit against the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency for their alleged mishandling of the situation in Tanapag received another boost, this time from the Saipan and Northern Islands Municipal Council.

The Council adopted a resolution supporting earlier calls for the taking of legal action by the Office of the Attorney General against the U.S. EPA and the Corps of Engineers, following investigations that these agencies committed gross negligence in carrying out the cleanup of polychlorinated biphenyl in Tanapag village.

According to the Council, at least 17 Tanapag residents have tested positive with PCB contamination primarily because of EPA’s and the Corps of Engineers mishandling of the situation in the area.

“The Council strongly recommends that the residents be compensated appropriately and relocated immediately to prevent mental anguish and other elements of suffering,” reads the resolution.

The Council claimed that the from the time PCB contaminated certain areas in Tanapag, both EPA and the Corps of Engineers have mishandled the cleanup project.

Its concerns stemmed from an investigation by the AGO, which revealed that the two federal agencies also violated U.S. laws that relate to standards in the carrying out of the cleanup project.

Federal cleanup standard provides that excavated soil contaminated with PCB must be replaced with clean soil which contains less than 1 ppm.

A report of the remedial action in Tanapag issued on Sept. 22, 1999, however, showed that many sites in the village were cleaned up below the 10 ppm level which is a clear violation of federal law. Prior to excavations and remediation efforts, PCB concentrations in some locations of the village were in excess of 55,000 ppm.

The report also claimed EPA Region-9 failed to carry out a site-specific baseline risk assessment to help establish the acceptable exposure levels of remediation as mandated under federal law.

An EPA document outlining the agency’s clean-up policy called for the evacuation of the area if contamination are near homes and restriction of access to affected waters or land spill areas.

At that time, the contamination excavated and remediated was within close proximity to residential area, church and school.

Documents have shown that since 1992, the EPA and the Corps of Engineers were aware that groundwater in Tanapag have PCB concentrations of up to 18 times (9 parts per billion) the federal drinking standard.

Also, the AGO previously warned that it will take legal action against the two federal agencies if they fail to order the Department of Army to post signs and fence the 18 areas in the village contaminated by PCB.

AGO previously said EPA must take all measures necessary for the protection of the citizens of the CNMI including temporary relocation at the cost of DOA through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.