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CUC, DEQ in dialogue to address Aggreko’s air emissions issue
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Posted on Oct 19 2008
The Commonwealth Utilities Corp. has been in dialogue with the Division of Environmental Quality to address the air emissions issue of Aggreko International’s emergency generators.
CUC executive director Antonio Muna told Saipan Tribune that DEQ director Frank Rabauliman is addressing the air emissions issue on behalf of CUC with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“There is a dialogue. We’re in any way not complying with EPA regulations,” Muna stressed.
“We addressed the issues with emissions, that was on the table. We addressed the issues with DEQ on the fuel pipeline. That was there. All those were on the table as we need to discuss,” he added.
EPA reportedly has been gathering information regarding the Aggreko’s emergency generators’ air emissions and quality, and lack of permits.
Muna said that some people don’t seem to realize that getting an EPA permit takes time.
“It is not a 30-day process. My understanding maybe months and sometimes years,” he said.
The CUC official said people should realize that the hiring of Aggreko was done through the governor’s emergency declaration.
“Bear in mind that we did sign Aggreko on June 19. The permit process could have said okay, June 19 we are going to do that. If we knew we are going to deliver Sept. 15, I could have said okay if we knew that for sure. But it was never for sure when we’re going to get Aggreko,” Muna said.
At the time, Muna said, they knew for sure that the engines at Power Plant 1 were failing and that the reservoir’s levels were coming at a point where they were very low so water service was being affected.
“A lot of things that we’re observing on the ground was from our standpoint, it was a state of emergency. Unfortunately there was really no way to gauge at what point we were committed to Aggreko to until the last part of July,” he said.
Muna said CUC made the payment on Aug. 3 and 5 in which that point the utility agency has only 30 days to try do what it needs to do.
Muna said the state of emergency was then in effect and this allowed CUC to be exempted from local regulations that have to do with air emissions.
“But from a federal standpoint we left that with DEQ to address that with EPA,” he pointed out.
