CUC says it abides by safety rules

Despite the accident that killed three men working on a Commonwealth Utilities Corp. sewer well, the agency would like to ensure the public that it abides by the rule that there is no compromise to safety.

CUC deputy executive director William B. Gilmore said this is their philosophy with the work and service they put out and the mindset when they hire a contractor to accomplish a project for them.

“CUC is extremely safety oriented and we have this in mind when we enter into agreements with contractor to do projects for us,” said Gilmore. “The contract language that goes out in any of our contracts has an extensive safety element in it that is required of every contractor.”

CUC also emphasized that the incident occurred under the watch of the CUC contractor, USA Fanter.

When CUC farms out a job to a contractor, CUC is not allowed to step in and give orders to the contractor. According to Gilmore, “It is the contractor’s work site as if they own it.”

“We are only there to open the door and give them the goal of the project. Outside of that, it is their site to fix, maintain and operate.”

CUC counsel James Sirok said he is comfortable with CUC’s position on the matter as they wait for the police report to be finished.

“This is similar to…a turnkey project. It means the contract with the contractor is to do a specific project and at the end of the project, the contractor turns it back over to you in operational condition,” said Sirok.

There is no other role that CUC plays other than perhaps to ensure that the project is constructed according to design.

The project with USA Fanter Corp. Ltd. was one where the contractor owned the project. “There is no requirement for us to be a regulatory agency for that contract,” Sirok added.

He pointed out that the contractors CUC awards a particular project to are bona fide CNMI business license holders. Another essential element set by CUC in getting a contractor is its Occupational Safety and Health Administration accreditation.

“We expect contractors are OSHA-oriented, along with other required regulatory conditions. The contractor is obligated to make sure that their employees are trained and certified so that they can meet and handle situations. That is what our contracts require,” Gilmore said.

“We also want to emphasize that our rules also require that we indicate clearly at the first pre–construction meeting that the contractor is in charge of its own methods, sequencing and method of doing business.” Gilmore added.

The incident last Friday was a first in CUC history.

“Again, we are very sorry for what happened. We definitely sent our condolences to the family and we hope such incident never happens again,” Gilmore said.