The Infrastructure and Recovery Program has hired several experts and specialists that are now assisting with many government agencies on various federally-funded projects, according to IRP coordinator Marianne Concepcion-Teregeyo.<\/p>\n
In an interview last Tuesday during the Coastal Construction Training at Aqua Resort Club, Concepcion-Teregeyo said right now they have two biologists and one endangered species specialist for their biology team, plus two archeologists, one Section 106 coordinator, and one anthropologist. Section 106 is a component of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and requires identification and assessment a federal agency\u2019s actions and its effects on historic buildings.<\/p>\n
She said they also have an engineer, inspectors, and are going to hire independent engineers. <\/p>\n
IRP hosted the Coastal Construction Training, with support from Federal Emergency Management Agency\u2019s Building Science, Mitigation Assessment Team. <\/p>\n
Concepcion-Teregeyo said they\u2019re we\u2019re working on the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.\u2019s wastewater projects right now and also working with the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp.\u2019s expansion project. <\/p>\n
She said they have been directed to assist with the Marpi public cemetery project and also to assist with the Northern Islands\u2019 water and waste water catchment systems.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo there\u2019s a lot of projects that we\u2019re now doing\u2026because we have our subject-matter experts,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
She said they\u2019re preparing and assisting other agencies for their projects such as the Oleai Road Project, where their archeology team is assisting the Northern Marianas Housing Corp. and the Historic Preservation Office. Concepcion-Teregeyo said she heard of a report that intact human remains were was found at the Oleai Road Project so their archeologist is at the site for assistance.<\/p>\n
In the case of the Commonwealth Utilities Corp., she said they are hoping to begin the wastewater and water construction for the As Gonno homestead subdivision. She said their target is by May 2022 to break ground on that water and wastewater project. She said the Department of Public Lands has completed the design but there was an additional request to pull in the water line and the wastewater from the primary line all the way into the lots.<\/p>\n
Concepcion-Teregeyo said she believes that DPL is getting ready to issue those homestead lots. She said the big component is to ensure that the water and wastewater lines are ready. <\/p>\n
Right now, Concepcion-Teregeyo said, they are all working on permitting and just getting these things moving. \u201cBut by next year, we\u2019re sure that we\u2019re going to start to see [this project get off the] ground,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She said May is their conservative projection for the As Gonno homestead project, but they\u2019re actually hoping to do it by March or April. Concepcion-Teregeyo said their chief engineer, Mariano Iglecias, is working with DPL\u2019s engineer and CUC\u2019s chief engineer, Larry Manacop. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to get the As Gonno infrastructure project going,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Concepcion-Teregeyo said they also went to Rota and Tinian with the FEMA team where they met with the mayors and their teams.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe offered them the same thing: What kind of trainings they need and what kind of help they need,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
She said they have the archaeologist and biologists and if Tinian and Rota have permits that need execution, their team will help them. <\/p>\n
Concepcion-Teregeyo clarified that IRP is not handling $1 billion worth of projects since they only work on designated projects as outlined in Gov. Ralph DLG Torres\u2019 directive on IRP. \u201cSo whatever projects are designated to us from the Office of the Governor, that\u2019s our first mission,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The coordinator said right now they\u2019re working on the American Rescue Plan Act projects. She said the CNMI received $583 million for ARPA, but every payroll also uses a portion of that ARPA money.<\/p>\n
Concepcion-Teregeyo said the infrastructure money that was put in on the governor\u2019s spending plan, that\u2019s what they\u2019re using. She said they\u2019re using the $83 million for DPL\u2019s homestead infrastructure. <\/p>\n
She said ARPA cannot pay for power so they\u2019re just doing water and wastewater project.<\/p>\n
She said they are working and meeting weekly with CUC, the Department of Public Works, Commonwealth Healthcare Corp., and FEMA Interagency Recovery Coordination.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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