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CNMI is ordered to pay $405.9K for 5 projects
U.S. District Court for the NMI designated Judge David O. Carter ordered the CNMI government yesterday to pay Gilbane Federal a total of $405,899 within 30 days for five Commonwealth Utilities Corp. projects.
Gilbane Federal is the court-appointed project management company that has been tasked to help CUC achieve compliance with Stipulated Order No. 2 projects. These are court-mandated CUC projects that focus on oil issues and also apply to oil spills and the remediation of the contaminated power plants.
Carter also determined that the total payment required to be made by the Court Registry Account to Gilbane Federal is $132,547 pursuant to those five projects.
The judge ordered the Court Registry to wire transfer $106,907 to Gilbane pursuant to Task Order 16 for Gilbane Federal invoices, and $25,640 more to Gilbane for the Gross Revenue Tax for invoices of Task Order 16 and four other Task Orders.
Task Order 16 invoices were for the purchase, shipment, and installation of two horizontal cylindrical tanks for CUC’s Power Plant 4 in Puerto Rico, to be paid by both court registry and grant funding.
Carter said the CNMI shall pay Gilbane Federal $22,766 pursuant to Task Order 1 for Gilbane invoices; $83,736 pursuant to Task Order 10; $88,714 pursuant to Task Order 12; $31,077 pursuant to Task Order 13; and $179,604 pursuant to Task Order 16.
Other ordered payments include: TO 1 invoices for management costs incurred, to be paid by both grant funding and registry funding; TO 10 invoices for Power Plants 1 and 2 waste management costs incurred, to be paid by grant funding; TO 12 invoices for facility drainage improvements for Power Plants 1, 2, and 4 costs incurred, to be paid by grant funding; and TO 13 invoices for Phase 2 facility waste management for Power Plants 1 and 2 costs incurred, to be paid by grant funding.
The U.S. government requested the court to direct that Gilbane Federal be paid for the invoiced costs.
On or before 20 days after each month, the EEMC is required to file and serve the court an invoice of its expenses during the preceding month, including a billing statement and a request for compensation.
Bradley R. O’Brien, senior attorney of the U.S. Department of Justice Environmental Enforcement Section, said the U.S. government finds the invoiced costs to be reasonable and requested the court to direct that payment to be made to the EEMC.
