Four plans being weighed for Puerto Rico dump

Solid Waste Task Force chair Lt. Gov. Diego T. Benavente said CNMI residents would have 30 days beginning today to comment on the four proposed reuse plans for the decades-old Puerto Rico dump, before the task force decides on which option the Commonwealth would adopt.

Benavente said environmental consulting firm Earth Tech was set to brief the task force members about the four reuse plans yesterday.

Earth Tech’s reuse assessment for the dump has been funded by a Brownfields grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which also mandates the implementation of a final closure plan for Puerto Rico.

The dump last received trash from households on Feb. 11 last year, eight days before the ceremonial padlocking of the facility’s gates.

EPA’s CNMI program manager Patricia Young said the agency would meet with the CNMI government to discuss the compliance schedule for the implementation of a final closure plan. The EPA has maintained a flexible stance on adjusting the compliance schedule, after the CNMI initially closed Puerto Rico and built the Marpi landfill, the first fully compliant non-military landfill in the Pacific.

EPA Pacific Islands Office manager John McCarroll Young earlier underscored the need to implement the final closure of Puerto Rico to prevent leachate from contaminating the Saipan lagoon. Located near the lagoon, the dump towers over 90 feet on some 20 acres of land.

The EPA had cited the CNMI for violating the Clean Water Act in the early 1990s. After the gates of Puerto Rico were padlocked in February last year, the task force noted the need to stabilize the mountainous dump’s slope facing the lagoon to prevent possible collapse and contamination of the sea, an undertaking that needs several millions of dollars.

Earth Tech’s Doug Roff said the consulting firm initially came up with eight reuse plans for Puerto Rico. The task force narrowed the options to four.

According to Earth Tech, minimal closure of the dump would cost about $8.2 million. The cost of operation and maintenance would be about $50,000.

“Final closure with interim restricted access would result in the Puerto Rico dump appearing as a vegetated mound with some crushed-coral maintenance access roads,” Earth Tech said.

“Initially, aboveground piping laid as part of the landfill gas collection and storm drain systems would be visible. Soon after construction, vegetation would camouflage this piping,” it added.

Earth Tech noted that minimal closure would entail the lowest capital cost among the reuse options. This reuse plan could be completed within two years, Earth Tech said.

Another reuse option, the conversion of the dump into a public park, has a slightly higher cost of about $10.2 million. The $2-million increment would be used to develop a park facility in addition to implementing the final closure. Operation of the park would entail an annual cost of $90,000 and could be completed within three years.

Earth Tech said the park would include walking or jogging paths, a restroom facility, a parking lot, and shade structures with benches. Landfill gas collection piping would be placed below the ground so that it would not be visible to park visitors.

Puerto Rico could also be converted into a cruise ship or floating hotel facility, which could cost up to $75 million. The cost would cover the construction of a facility to moor ships.

“Final closure of the waste mound would be nearly identical to reuse as a public park. The grounds would provide a scenic location for passengers and guests to embark and disembark and for use by residents,” Earth Tech said.

Considering the high cost, Earth Tech said investor funding would be needed to construct structures for a floating hotel and to purchase a ship that would be used as a hotel. Although costly, Earth Tech noted that such a project would help generate revenue from tourists and would allow Navy ships to dock at the site. Operation and maintenance of the facility is estimated at $60,000 annually.

Among the reuse plans being considered, the closure of the dump to give way for an expansion of the existing port facility would be the most costly at about $80 million. The project would entail dredging, and constructions of a wharf, seawall, and a road connecting the existing dock to the new one. Operation and maintenance would cost about $50,000 annually.

Earth Tech noted, however, that the Commonwealth Ports Authority does not see the need to expand the current port facility for at least 10 years. It also said, however, that the project would generate revenue from tourism and commerce, as well as long-term jobs to local residents.