Hocog heads task force on harbor projects

Lt. Gov. Victor Hocog said yesterday that he and Gov. Ralph DLG Torres have formed a task force to ensure that the feasibility study for the Tinian and Rota harbor gets all the data that the U.S. Army Corps needs to ascertain the completion of these studies.

For its meeting Tuesday, Hocog said they involved members of the U.S. Coast Guard, all local permitting agencies, the Commonwealth Ports Authority, the CNMI Historic Preservation Office, the Department of Public Lands.

“This is just to get some data for the inquiries that need to be submitted,” Hocog said.

“We are trying to beat the time deadline of May 1. We are having a meeting again on the [April] 19” on the data that needs to be submitted to the Army Corps.

Hocog described some of the data as “what is needed” when construction begins, referring to coastal resources, and public lands information.

“Or what is it that they want to find out from Public Lands about the quarry that are on island, and find out if we have enough in the event that construction is going to proceed,” he added.

Hocog said the total project for the feasibility study is roughly $3 million and for Rota about $2.96 million.

He added that the local share for Rota would be $969,000 for Rota, and $970,000 for Tinian.

Last November, then acting governor Ralph DLG Torres identified the local funds to match federal dollars to conduct feasibility studies for repair and improvements to the Tinian and Rota harbors. Some $552,000 from the Commonwealth Ports Authority and the administrative accounts of Torres’ office and late governor Eloy S. Inos’ office was identified for this purpose. The local match to federal fiscal years 2015 and 2016 dollars allowed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to move ahead with the study.

Derek Chow, Army Corps chief of the Civil and Public Works Branch, has said that the reported large number of close-outs—hazardous wave conditions that prevent barges from entering the Rota harbor—calls for additional upgrades. Tinian harbor’s breakwater—a sheet piled with rubble around it—he has said, was “very deteriorated and provides minimal protection” for vessels.

The harbor feasibility study is a three-year study with a total cost to the CNMI government of about $1 million. This amount can be broken up into annual increments.

Last September, the local administration signed an agreement with the Army Corps on the feasibility, design, and construction phases of the project. Congressional authorization is needed to get from the feasibility to the construction phases.

The feasibility study refers to the engineering and conceptual design for repairs. This will include cost estimates, economic analysis, environmental studies and analysis, and potential environmental impact statement. The report will recommend to U.S. Congress whether the repairs and upgrades are worthy of federal investment or not.