EPA urged to revisit stringent job requirements for CUC

Citing the CNMI’s financial unattractiveness, now may be a good time for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to revisit stringent job requirements for the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.’s top positions, according to a CUC letter to the regulatory agency.

The letter to EPA, from then-executive director Alan Fletcher, described CUC’s many efforts to recruit and hire individuals for court- ordered positions, which EPA oversees and vets.

Other positions that need to be filled are the deputy executive director, drinking water and wastewater division manager, and technical manager for oil positions.

“CUC continues to struggle financially and is limited on the salary and benefits offered. Unfortunately, financial uncertainty, among other factors, may be the reason CUC has not been able to attract greater numbers of industry professionals to the CNMI. This may be an opportune time to consider re-evaluating requirements for all [stipulated order] positions to assist CUC obtain and retain compliance,” CUC said.

According to acting CUC executive director John Riegel on Tuesday, they had not yet received a reply from EPA on the letter.

In its letter to EPA, CUC says the search for a new executive director has commenced and is ongoing with advertisements in the local papers and national industry-specific bulletins.

For the deputy executive director position, CUC says they have been unable to recruit a suitable candidate for the position after previously conducting four full recruitments for the job. These recruitments are conducted nationwide.

For the position, CUC says they have had about 66 applicants or interested candidates, though many have been repeat applicants over the two years worth of ads. Two applicants out of 22 who showed “promise were turned down by EPA, and a third rescinded,” CUC says.

Most recently, CUC said they have received eight additional applicants from recruitments that closed in March. They are vetting the candidates.

“Irrespective of this recruitment, CUC respectfully requests to defer further recruitment until arrival of a new executive director so that he/she will be part of the selection process,” CUC states.

CUC said this may also be time to consider revisiting the position’s requirements as listed in court-stipulated orders, as the job’s requirements are virtually identical to the executive director.

On the water manager position, CUC has run continual recruitment since 2014. CUC is currently in the interview process for the six most qualified candidates.

On the technical manager for oil job, CUC says they recruited internally for the position. Since 2010, though, CUC says they have employed three separate managers, with two serving in the acting position almost as long as the three former managers employed.

CUC explains that it is a difficult position to recruit and fill due its specialized nature, industry demand, and the scrutiny it receives from EPA.

CUC also notes limited staffing in human resources, a high number of hiring following a hiring freeze for non-stipulated order positions, other employment matters, the implementation of salary compensation and performance systems, and the resignation of CUC’s human resource manager as things that may slow down candidate processing.