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CUC emergency extended—again
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Posted on Dec 03 2008
Gov. Benigno Fitial extended once more the declaration of a state of disaster emergency for the Commonwealth Utilities Corp., adding several findings to support his decision.
CUC has been under a state of emergency since Aug. 1.
In addition to the findings he cited during previous declarations, Fitial’s new justifications include: the CUC water division cannot serve all of its customers because of a lack of supplies and equipment; there is no indication that CUC will be able to comply with federal requirements stipulated in the recent lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice; and a rate freeze recommended by an outside consulting group will prevent CUC from purchasing needed supplies and materials and possibly oil.
Fitial directs CUC to do the same measures as past declarations. They include: documenting procurement activity and notifying specific officials; contracting with an independent power producer for two years or less; providing within 30 days permits or compliance plans; procuring the labor and equipment needed to fix the Chalan Kiya distribution system and removing used oil from tank 104 and other barrels.
In November, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency filed a civil suit against CUC to compel it to adhere to federal regulations governing water, sewer, power, and fuel. If certain stipulations are not met, CUC can be penalized up to $1,000 per day per violation for the first 30 days; $2,000 per day per violation following the 30 days; and $5,000 per day per violation for each day after.
“These orders require CUC to implement a series of improvements to its water and wastewater systems that respond to years of neglect, for which it presently lacks the funds and the complete technical capability,” Fitial wrote in his newest declaration. “CUC requires a constant supply of electricity to run its water and wastewater systems. CUC has very limited on-site emergency generation capability for only parts of this system. While CUC intends to do everything it can to comply with the federal requirements, there is no indication that this situation will be resolved in the next month.”
