EPA: DEQ lab is regional center of excellence

The Environmental Protection Agency Region has lauded the CNMI’s Division of Environmental Quality for having a laboratory that could be considered a regional center of excellence.

This according to a letter signed by EPA Pacific Islands Office manager John McCarroll to DEQ director John I. Castro Jr. last Tuesday.

McCarroll said a DEQ lab engineer was the only state or territorial drinking water engineer in the United States sent to Sri Lanka for tsunami response.

McCarroll said the same engineer was also sent to Majuro to help improve the Marshall Islands’ water system. He also commended DEQ by having a marine biologist work on coral reef monitoring projects in the Pacific. He added that the DEQ marine biologist has been very instrumental in helping other Pacific islands, also by assisting in the development of national coral reef monitoring standards.

“It’s been our pleasure to have been able to work closely with you and your staff over the past four years,” he said. McCarroll said the CNMI was one of the first jurisdictions in the western U.S. to have its coastal non-point source program federally approved. He also commended DEQ for being recognized by EPA Region 9 for its environmental excellence this year.

McCarroll and his team visited the island last November for a series of meetings at the DEQ office. It reportedly lauded the CNMI’s Water Task Force for increasing Saipan’s water supply by about two million gallons daily.

Saipan is the only municipality across the nation that does not have 24-hour potable water daily.

With the task force’s efforts, however, Saipan’s water supply has increased by 25 percent to approximately 10 million gallons daily, according to the EPA Pacific Islands’ office manager.

McCarroll noted the task force’s efforts to drill new water wells, which directly increase water supply.

He also lauded the task force’s implementation of water metering, which indirectly contributes to the water supply by reducing water wastage due to leaks and lack of conservation. The Commonwealth Utilities Corp. had earlier estimated water loss due to leaks at three million gallons daily.

“They [task force members] have accomplished a lot. In the CNMI, there are so many challenges that we face. Saipan is the only municipality in the United States that does not have 24-hour water,” McCarroll said.

A study conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had estimated the cost of constructing water infrastructure, which will completely address Saipan’s water problem, at over $100 million.

But McCarroll earlier said the task force has been able to alleviate the situation by increasing Saipan’s water supply. He said that some villages that used to get a 30-minute supply of water daily could now get 8-10 hours of water supply per day.