‘CUC’s used oil tank on the brink of failure’

An oil storage tank at the Commonwealth Utility Corp.’s power plant in Puerto Rico is on the brink of a major spill that could pollute Saipan’s lagoon, according to the prominent community group TaoTao Tano and CUC’s former executive director.

Tank 104, a 300,000 gallon storage unit for used oil at the CUC plant that is already facing a review by environmental regulators, is “an accident waiting to happen,” said Gregorio Cruz, president of Tao Tao Tano, in an interview Wednesday.

Earlier this week, Cruz filed a citizen’s complaint over the tank with the CNMI Department of Environmental Quality. The tank, he says, has previously leaked a significant quantity of oil onto the surrounding land and is in such poor condition that more is likely to be spilled.

“Years of mismanagement have come down to this,” he said, noting that the tank’s proximity to a nearby beach means that a major leak could send the oil into Saipan’s lagoon. “If you just pick up the dirt there, you can see oil.”

Former CUC executive director Ramon S. Guerrero echoed those fears in a statement Sunday, warning that the storage tank is on “the brink of a catastrophic failure” and is “near ready to fall apart.”

In addition to problems with the tank, CUC has a host of leaking waste oil drums, Guerrero noted, adding that CUC has failed to address any of its oil storage issues despite a 2006 order by the Environmental Protection Agency threatening thousands of dollars in daily fines unless they are resolved.

“If CUC deals with this in their laissez-faire way, soon all we will have is our beautiful lagoon completely polluted by contaminated oil,” Guerrero said. “For all the hotel owners, especially some sympathizers, be aware that your hotel beach front could be the worst nightmare yet on our beautiful island. Already, the coastline at Tanapag and Charlie Dock is showing signs of oil spill.”

DEQ’s acting manager on oil storage issues, James Callier, downplayed suggestions that the oil tank poses a serious environmental threat, saying it is positioned inside a large secondary containment area capable of holding its entire contents should a rupture occur. Callier added the tank is likely less than half full.

“To our knowledge there are no current leaks from tank 104,” DEQ spokeswoman Reina Camacho added in a statement, noting that DEQ, EPA and CUC are now analyzing data on the tanks and waste oil drums to determine how to regulate them. DEQ officials got the final pieces of that data last week, she said.

CUC officials did not respond to several requests for comment on this story and requests for access to view the storage tank.