OIA official inspects US-funded facilities

A federal official from the US Army Corps of Engineers Honolulu District has made a periodic visit to the Northern Marianas to check on the status of some 15 federally-subsidized improvement projects under various departments in the local government.

The US Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of the Interior are partners in an operations and maintenance program that reaches out to the maintenance needs of state-run infrastructure and facilities in US Pacific Islands including the CNMI.

Other areas covered by the program are American Samoa, Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.

According to visiting OIA consultant Joe Barboo, the unique program has allowed the Commonwealth to gain access to a total of $5 million in federal matching funds for the upkeep of public facilities since 1990.

The local health center, the solid waste management project, the utilities sector, and other agencies have benefited from this program through grants.

“It’s a very effective program. Some people think that it’s a model program…it has gained the people’s confidence because of the assistance it provides,” said Mr. Barboo, guesting at yesterday’s weekly Rotary Club meeting at the Hyatt.

The principal goal of the program is to institutionalize sustainable improvements to the operations and maintenance in the government’s infrastructure, according to the US official.

“This program was started in 1990 spawned by a need to address infrastructure problems in the Pacific islands in the area of operations and maintenance,” he added.

Through federal maintenance funds, the Commonwealth Health Center is anticipated to usher in this year a new plant engineer who will steer the operations and maintenance aspect of the local hospital.

CNMI’s Solid Waste Management Task Force through the project manager Mr. John Harder is also drafting with the OIA consultant federal grants eyed to alleviate the islands’ garbage problem.

The Commonwealth Utilities Corporation is also recipient to the federal subsidy under its Project WET program.

The water education for teachers program received some $40,000 to support its variety of projects in 2001 all aimed at creating more public awareness on the wise use of one of the planet’s most precious natural resources, according to Mr. Barboo.

He also expressed hopes the US Congress will continue to support the Army Corps of Engineers and the OIA-initiated program through the continuous flow of resources.