PMIC to do projects in lieu of $70K fine

Pacific Marine and Industrial Corp. has sought the approval of the Environmental Protection Agency to go ahead and do environmentally beneficial projects in the CNMI rather than write a check of $70,000 in fines due to violations of used oil waste storage and management regulations.

PMIC was busted by the EPA two years ago for committing waste violations. PMIC acknowledged the fault but asked EPA if they could instead offer to do supplemental projects.

According to Patrick Wooliever, Tetratech’s sustainability consultant based in San Francisco, a portion of PMIC’s penalty is to do something related to the fine they got.

“In PMIC’s case, used oil waste management. Instead of writing a check to the U.S. Treasury, they can do a project on island that would benefit the community and the environment here on Saipan,” Wooliever said.

With the help of Wooliever, PMIC came up with three separate projects that they plan to get started on in the near future.

The first project is to visit at least half a dozen hotels on Saipan and educate them on reducing their environmental footprints.

“That would be energy usage, solid waste management, hazardous materials, and limitations of janitorial supplies to make sure they don’t contain carcinogens,” Wooliever said.

He said that a meeting with the hotels would be held at the end of the week to let them know of what they’ve found and suggest other good hospitality management practices.

A second project is to work with the Division of Environmental Quality in providing auto repair facilities simple and inexpensive equipment to manage their used oil.

“There are about 200 auto repair shops on the island. And many of them are one- or two-men operations with unsophisticated setup and equipment with used oil,” Wooliever said.

He says the used oil seeps into the soil, degrading groundwater.

Finally, the third project is to run a used oil collection event in which household residents can turn in their used oil free of charge. The used oil collected will be sent Gresco Company, a recycling center in Guam. The event will be promoted by DEQ come June 21.

Wooliever said that it’s “a bit arduous to get that through EPA’s bureaucracy and get it approved. But it’s a great example. Giving something back to the local community for good benefits that they sorely need than to write a check that God knows where it would go in the federal budget.”

Wooliever said that the three projects for his PMIC client is part of an environmental settlement with the EPA.

He said the three projects would cost more than the $70,000 fine imposed on his client.

When asked why they chose to do the latter, he said: “They have an interest on Saipan and they’d rather spend the money on something beneficial to Saipan rather than write a check that goes to U.S. Treasury where Saipan does not get any benefit.”