The U.S. government has requested the U.S. District Court for the NMI to approve six projects for the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. that have a total budget of $5 million, mostly grant funded.<\/p>\n
The U.S. government, through the U.S. Department of Justice Environmental Enforcement Section senior attorney Bradley R. O\u2019Brien, asked the court to approve CUC projects under the so-called amended Task Order 1 and Task Orders 11 to 14.<\/p>\n
Five projects are grant funded and budgeted at $4,879,000, while one is court registry funded and budgeted at $165,000, or for a total budget of $5,044,000. The CNMI government was required to deposit certain amount of funds to court registry under the settlement agreement with the U.S. government. <\/p>\n
O\u2019Brien said the Task Order projects are intended to be completed primarily by Gilbane Federal, the court-appointed engineering and environmental management company (EEMC), with the assistance of CUC.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Brien said CUC and the CNMI government support the U.S. government\u2019s request.<\/p>\n
Amended Task Force Order 1 relates to EEMC construction and management administration costs relating to Stipulated Order No. 2.<\/p>\n
Stipulated Order No. 2 projects relate to oil spill prevention, preparedness, and response.<\/p>\n
In addition to EEMC management costs, O\u2019Brien said the amended Task Order 1 includes two specific projects.<\/p>\n
He said one project relates to assisting CUC with developing a regulatory compliant facility response plan reflecting new infrastructure and increasing CUC\u2019s ability to respond to an oil spill.<\/p>\n
The EEMC will rely on CUC to provide on-the-ground logistical support.<\/p>\n
This project, O\u2019Brien said, is grant funded and budgeted at $150,000.<\/p>\n
The second project relates to assisting CUC in developing a corrosion and cathodic protection manual to allow CUC to better maintain and increase the longevity of metal structures such as tanks and ancillary equipment.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Brien said cathodic protection is especially important in CNMI\u2019s salty and humid environment as corrosion is more prevalent in this environment.<\/p>\n
He said this project is grant funded and budgeted $50,000.<\/p>\n
He said the amended Task Order 1 increases the 2017-2018 funding ceiling by $382,000 with $321,000 borne by grand funding and $61,000 borne by the court registry.<\/p>\n
Task Order 11 relates to utilizing an in-line inspection tool (smart pig) to delineate \u201cas built\u201d conditions of the recently constructed CUC pipeline.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Brien said the smart pig will be run through the CUC pipeline to record and document baseline data such as pipe metal thickness and potential deformations.<\/p>\n
This project, O\u2019Brien said, is grant funded and budgeted at $591,500.<\/p>\n
Task Order 12 relates to improving surface drainage conditions and systems at Power Plants 1 and 2 and Power Plant 4 to control surface water, minimize and contain oil impacted water, and prevent offsite oil migration.<\/p>\n
This project, O\u2019Brien said, is grant funded and budgeted at $2,376,500. <\/p>\n
He said the amount of Task Order 12 work may increase with court approval, if additional funding becomes available from other Task Orders or funding sources. <\/p>\n
Task Order 13 is a Phase 2 project and relates to facility waste management improvements at Power Plants 1 and 2.<\/p>\n
Task Order 13, O\u2019Brien said, involves procuring, shipping, installing, and commissioning an incinerator system.<\/p>\n
The incinerator system will accommodate only nonhazardous solid materials from CUC\u2019s power plants.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Brien anticipated that the need for the Power Plants 1 and 2 incinerator system to manage Rota power plant materials will be greatly diminished due to the Rota Power Plant eliminator system.<\/p>\n
Although Task Order 13 is on schedule, the incinerator system is subject to CNMI permitting, he said.<\/p>\n
Task Order 13 is currently grant funded and budgeted at $1,711,000. <\/p>\n
O\u2019Brien said discussions have been held to evaluate whether a portion of Task Order 13\u2019s costs should be court registry funded.<\/p>\n
Task Order 14 is a phase 2 project that relates to Rota power plant waste management improvements and the purchase and installation of advanced oil filtration equipment.<\/p>\n
Specifically, O\u2019Brien said, an advanced oil filtration unit known as the eliminator will be installed on the Rota Power Plant\u2019s four main Cummins generator sets.<\/p>\n
This project, he said, will enhance operational efficiencies and reduce long-term operational costs. <\/p>\n
Task Order 14 is court registry funded and budgeted at $165,000.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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