Federal funds reprogrammed for Agingan project

Federal funds for the Commonwealth’s drinking water program have been reprogrammed to the wastewater program to get the much-delayed Agingan ocean outfall project moving.

The Commonwealth Utilities Corp. said yesterday that the administration reprogrammed $759,000 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’ water infrastructure grant fund to the wastewater infrastructure program.

Gov. Juan N. Babauta did the reprogramming pursuant to his authority to transfer up to 33 percent of the total grant funds from the drinking water program to the sewer program.

The amount forms part of the CNMI’s total EPA water grant funds from fiscal year 1997 through 2005.

According to CUC, the reprogrammed money will be added to the existing EPA grant for the construction of an ocean outfall for the Agingan Wastewater Treatment Plant.

“The design of the outfall is completed and contractor selected. With the addition of these funds, the construction work can proceed,” the utility firm said.

CUC recently issued a request for proposals from architectural and engineering firms interested in providing consultancy services for the ocean outfall construction. Proposals will be accepted until Aug. 31, 2005.

The project is being undertaken pursuant to EPA’s November 1999 order, which cited for its failure to construct an ocean outfall and improve the quality of water effluent being discharged from the Agingan treatment plant into the ocean, and for its inability to match funds for a $1.2 million grant from the environmental agency for Agingan’s plant repairs.

CUC’s continued failure to comply with the order prompted another warning from EPA in September 2004.

In a message faxed to CUC, EPA environmental engineer Michael Lee said: “CUC needs to take whatever steps necessary to secure adequate funding for construction of the ocean outfall to ensure compliance as soon as possible. Failure to do so may result in EPA elevating this matter, which would result in penalties of up to $32,500 per day per violation.”

To comply with the EPA order, CUC is proposing to construct an outfall that will discharge treated effluent in deeper water off Agingan Point.

This outfall project has been the top-ranked project on CNMI’s wastewater project priority list for EPA funding since 2001.

It consists of the installation of a sewerline outfall solely by horizontal directional drilling method, according to CUC. It includes land and underwater piping, junction structures, demolition of the existing clarifier, connection to existing system, and diffuser assembly, among other things.

Once completed, the new outfall will lessen the impact of the discharge to the marine environment and to public health, CUC said.