Previous Story
$5M in infra funds for the CNMI
WASHINGTON—U.S. Interior Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs Doug Domenech has approved $5 million in Capital Infrastructure Program grant funding to the CNMI for fiscal year 2018.
The funding provided will be used to support the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. in meeting court-stipulated requirements.
Funds this year will be used toward the planning, design, and installation of new systems, equipment, and practices to improve management of nonhazardous solid and liquid waste materials at power plants 1 and 2 on Saipan.
The project will also consider the possibility of accepting some waste materials from the Rota power plant.
“The Department of the Interior is pleased to provide continued support to Gov. [Ralph DLG] Torres and his administration in meeting requirements that will continue the necessary work of improving infrastructure and safety, as well as meeting environmental standards necessary to protect the public,” said Domenech.
This is the fourth and final year of funding support provided through the Office of Insular Affairs in support of the CNMI government meeting Stipulated Order No. 2 originally entered by the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands on March 11, 2009. The 2009 order required certain projects, many infrastructure-related, to be completed relating to spill prevention, preparedness, and response.
Public Law 104-134, enacted in 1996, provides for the CIP funding, which is disbursed to American Samoa, Guam, the CNMI, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Over the years, each of the territories has used this mandatory appropriation to fund projects addressing a variety of critical infrastructure needs such as hospitals, schools, wastewater and solid waste systems. (PR)
