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CUC ends contract with private water lab
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Posted on Nov 18 2004
The Commonwealth Utilities Corp. has ended its contract with a private laboratory that conducted CUC’s water testing after the utility firm lost its certification last year.
CUC terminated the contract with Tanapag-based Quality Waters Inc. after receiving its re-certification from the Division of Environmental Quality earlier this month.
CUC executive director Lorraine Babauta said the utility firm now has full certification, which will remain valid for three years. After that period, CUC will undergo evaluation by the environmental agency.
“We are no longer using the services of Tanapag Waters. We are now fully running our own tests [of drinking water samples],” she said.
DEQ revoked the water laboratory’s permit on Sept. 19, 2003 due to allegedly falsified bacteria data report, invalid sampling, false reporting, and lack of qualified personnel to oversee the laboratory.
On numerous occasions, water samples were not tested for bacteria but CUC reported them to DEQ as negative, according to the environmental agency.
CUC had also committed violations by reading out samples before the actual 18 to 24 hours required incubation period was up. In some instance, CUC failed to keep a record of incubation time or read out time.
Further, CUC had reported certain samples as negative when they were actually positive for either total coliform or E.Coli. Based on the DEQ manual, all positive total coliform samples should be reported to the DEQ Safe Drinking Water branch.
In addition, DEQ noted that CUC lacked qualified staff to handle the water sampling, after it placed laboratory manager Pete Babauta and assistant manager Mariano Iglesias on indefinite administrative leave on Sept. 1, 2003.
Babauta, who is the husband of the CUC executive director, subsequently retired from government service. He is currently facing charges of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and false documents in the U.S. District Court.
