CUC board thumbs nose on EPA qualms with management structure

The Commonwealth Utilities Corp. board says they have not “systematically failed” to meet federal court-ordered requirements for its management structure, according to a June 22 letter CUC sent to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

CUC tells the EPA that they “take exception” to many statements made in an earlier May 2016 letter from EPA. They suggested that EPA’s minimum qualification requirements for utility manager posts were “extremely rigid” and should be “modified.”

“Your letter implies that because of CUC’s conduct related to hiring of the SOI [Stipulated Court Order 1] positions there exists longstanding compliance and health issues stemming in great part from the lack of qualified management operating the utility,” CUC board chair Adelina Roberto wrote in the four-page letter, copies of which were obtained by Saipan Tribune yesterday.

“…CUC has met and complied with all aspects of the law related to safe drinking water,” she said. “There are no outstanding public health issues which can be directly attributed to the current management and the manner it has been operating the utility.”

CUC maintains that its hiring practices have not systemically failed to meet SOI hiring mandates; that they are not acting in disregard of its court ordered obligation to timely hire qualified personnel; and that they are “doing all it can in addressing it [sic] obligation to hire qualified individuals.”

“EPA is considering a response,” EPA public affairs officer Dean Higuchi told Saipan Tribune yesterday.

EPA’s May letter essentially said that CUC had limited its search for its top executive director position to local outlets despite promises made to expand personnel searches off-island, and that lengthy vacancies in three of eight senior management were “adversely impacting operations.” The EPA said that CUC had “not voiced a plausible strategy for filling these positions.”

In their letter, CUC touts their new Human Resource manager, Andrew Orsini, who was hired in mid-February of 2016 to fill the vacancy left when CUC’s former human resource manager left in July 2015.

From the beginning of his employment, he was tasked with the responsibility of ensuring a continued recruitment process in the hiring of qualified individual to fill the SO1 positions, CUC said.

The vacant positions were continually advertised at utility appropriate websites that have a wider range of advertising to attract qualified applicants to fill these critical and required SO1 positions, CUC said, listing the five websites, including its own.

CUC said they have forwarded to EPA three applicants for the executive director and two applicants for deputy executive director positions for vetting last month.

All applicants were found to be unqualified.

CUC said they would continue to submit names of all applicants for these positions.

These five are so far the number of applicants since the opening of this year, they added.

“Simply put, since 2016 there have not been any applicants whose names CUC has not submitted to EPA for vetting,” wrote Roberto. “CUC will continue the process of announcing the opening of such positions until filled.”

On the executive director position, CUC said a job vacancy was announced on June 4, 2015 and closing date was until filled.

CUC said there were 10 applicants for the position.

Four of the applicants were unqualified and the other two were requested to provide supplemental information to show their qualifications.

EPA determined one of the two applicants that had provided supplemental information was deemed qualified for the position.

“During the interview process with CUC’s board of directors, certain information came to light about the applicants which caused the board to determine that it would be best not to hire the applicant,” said Roberto, adding that their Human Resources Office was then told to re-advertise the position, opening the position on February 2016 with a closing date “until filled.”

Three applicants were received, CUC said.

All three applicants were forwarded to EPA for vetting on May 2016.

These applicants were found to be unqualified by EPA, CUC said.

CUC goes on to detail its hiring attempts for deputy executive director and drinking water and wastewater division manager, which were unsuccessful, due to issues CUC cited like family emergency, personal reason, issues stemming from background investigations, among others.

“CUC remains active in the recruiting process for all unfilled SO1 positions. CUC will continue to provide EPA updates on the status of the recruitment process until the SO1 positions are finally filled. However, it should be noted that the difficulty in filling these positions is not attributed to any particular hiring practice of CUC. The qualifications requirements are extremely rigid. For this reason it is suggested that consideration also be given to modifying these requirements in an effort to attract further applicants for the positions.”

In May, CUC acting executive director Gary Camacho fired without cause former chief financial officer Matt Yaquinto.

The CFO position is a stipulated order position, and CUC is required to “appoint another qualified individual within one hundred fifty (150) days of the date of the vacancy.”

CUC has been incurring penalties as it continues to fail compliance with stipulated orders. For SO1, which includes the executive director and the deputy executive director positions, CUC faces $2,000 to $5,000 per day in penalties. CUC has already accrued $40 million each in penalties for SO1 and SO2.