Previous Story
$151,958 more OK’d for some CUC projects
CNMI now satisfies $2.8M funding requirement
The U.S. Department of the Interior has approved an additional funding of $151,958 that will be used by the federal court-ordered Engineering and Environmental Management Company for some stalled projects of the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.
This DOI’s authorization to proceed with the project for $151,958 and DOI’s earlier authorization to proceed with $2.65 million for the CUC pipeline construction project now satisfy the CNMI’s $2.8 million funding requirement under federal court orders, according to assistant attorney general Teresita J. Sablan.
Sablan, as counsel for the CNMI government, notified the U.S. District Court for the NMI on Saturday about the Office of Insular Affairs’ formal notice of the award of $151,958.
Sablan said these funds would be available for the Engineering and Management Company to use for contract management and administration of stipulated order 2 projects and related project proposal.
SO2 refers to court-mandated CUC projects that include the pipeline; tank erection cleanout and testing; secondary containment; and used oil disposal, and others.
Sablan said the CNMI will not reprogram these funds without the mutual agreement of the CNMI and U.S. governments, CUC, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Pursuant to court’s orders, the CNMI was required to deposit $2.8 million into the District Court’s registry or file a notice of DOI’s authorization to proceed for funding SO2 projects by Feb. 13, 2015. The court lately extended the deadline.
OIA’s grants management specialist Keith W. Aughenbaugh sent the notice to proceed for $151,958 to CNMI Capital Improvement Project administrator Virginia Villagomez on Thursday, Feb. 13.
