The federal court has approved a joint request by the CNMI and U.S. governments and the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. to increase the funding ceiling for the construction of the stalled CUC pipeline project to $8,482,161. <\/p>\n
U.S. District Court for the NMI designated judge David O. Carter in the same order issued on Wednesday, also granted the parties\u2019 request to increase the funding ceiling for task order 1 to $838,272. Carter\u2019s order and the parties\u2019 stipulation did not indicate the amount of the original funding ceiling for task order 1.<\/p>\n
Task order 1 refers to Gilbane Federal\u2019s activities such as providing construction management, oversight, and court required activities on CUC projects. <\/p>\n
Gilbane Federal is a California-based construction company mandated by the federal court to expeditiously complete some stalled CUC projects. <\/p>\n
With respect to the CUC pipeline project, last February, Carter approved the parties\u2019 request to put a total funding ceiling of $4.6 million to the controversial project.<\/p>\n
Last February, the U.S. Department of the Interior approved an additional funding of $2.6 million to complete the pipeline project. With such additional funds, DOI\u2019s total funding for the project would then balloon to $8.1 million since the project was initiated in 2010.<\/p>\n
Last Nov. 13, the CNMI government submitted an amended Fiscal Year 2016 Commonwealth Improvement Projects spending plan to DOI\u2019s Office of Insular Affairs to include the $5 million funding requirement for Stipulated Order 2 (SO2) projects.<\/p>\n
The $5 million FY 2016 grant funds will be used for the pipeline project $3,887,161, Gilbane Federal\u2019s construction management (382,225), and for cleanup, inspection and repair of Tank 103 ($730,614). OIA is currently reviewing the grant applications for the SO2 projects.<\/p>\n
The oil pipeline project is an 8-inch aboveground receiving pipeline that delivers diesel fuel from the Mobil oil facility to CUC Power Plants 1 and 2 in Lower Base. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had stated that until the pipeline is properly repaired or replaced, it poses a threat to the adjacent ocean.<\/p>\n
SO2 projects refer to the decommissioning of the existing CUC pipeline and smart pigging of the new pipeline, waste management for Power Plants 1 and 2 on Saipan and Rota power plant, construction management, among others. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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