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ON $5M FUNDING FOR CUC PROJECTS
CNMI, parties seek more time
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is still reviewing some projects of the Commonwealth Utilities Corp., causing the delay in the release of $5 million from the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Because of this, an authorization to proceed, or ATP, to use the $5 million for some CUC projects was not issued before that day, Wednesday, according to CUC, the U.S. and the CNMI governments in a notice o the U.S. District Court for the NMI.
The parties earlier disclosed that Interior issued a grant award of $5 million to the CNMI for stipulated order 2 projects.
The parties—CUC, the U.S. government, and the CNMI government—are now asking the court to again extend the deadline and give the CNMI until April 1, 2017, to file its notice of ATP.
U.S. District Court for the NMI designated judge David O. Carter had already extended the deadline for the CNMI government to file with the court its ATP for $5-million funding on or before Wednesday, March 1, 2017, at the request of the parties.
Pursuant to the court’s order, the CNMI must deposit $5 million into the court’s registry or file a notice with the court of the DOI’s ATP.
The request for extension was jointly filed by CUC legal counsel James S. Sirok, U.S. Department of Justice environmental enforcement section senior attorney Bradley R. O’Brien, and CNMI special assistant attorney general Teresita J. Sablan.
The lawyers stated in their first request that the U.S., including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Engineering and Environmental Management Company, have been working diligently to obtain the ATP.
However, the lawyers said, it has become apparent that despite all efforts of the parties and the EEMC, an ATP will not be issued on or before Feb. 1, 2017.
They said the delay in the ATP is due to the fact that the Office of Insular Affairs is currently on a continuing resolution through April 28, 2017, and issues surrounding the approval and completion of the CNMI’s single audit.
To give more time for the CNMI to obtain the ATP, the parties agreed to extend the deadline to March 1, 2017. The court granted the request.
