Deadline to select potential EEMCs extended 23 days

The federal court has approved a joint request by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Commonwealth Utilities Corp., and the CNMI government to be given 23 more days to complete the evaluation process to select an Engineering and Environmental Management Company that will complete some stalled CUC projects.

In approving the extension request last week, U.S. District Court for the NMI designated judge David O. Carter required EPA, CUC, and the CNMI government to meet and confer no later than Nov. 19, 2014.

Carter required the parties to propose potential qualified EEMCs to the court by Dec. 3, 2014.

Carter approved in September a settlement agreement between EPA, CUC, and the CNMI government that will require the CNMI government to, among other things, hire an EEMC that will be vested with the power to hasten the completion of some stalled CUC projects.

The CNMI government is required to set aside over $22.8 million until 2018 for these projects.

On the selection of an EEMC, EPA may identify up to five potential candidates. CUC and the CNMI may also identify up to five potential EEMCs. All parties will then reduce the number of potential EEMCs to be submitted to the court.

If the court does not select one of the parties’ proposed EEMCs or an EEMC withdraws or is no longer retained, all parties will need to submit a new proposed EEMC.

In that September order, the parties were given 45 days or up to Nov. 10, 2014, to submit proposed potential EEMCs for court approval.

In the parties’ request for extension last week, EPA counsel Environmental Enforcement Section senior attorney Bradley R. O’Brien, CUC counsel James S. Sirok, and Attorney General Gilbert J. Birnbrich stated that although EPA and CUC have regularly discussed the EEMC process and they talked on the phone on Oct. 27, 2014, the formal meet and conference set for that day has not yet been scheduled.

The lawyers said the parties have made substantial progress meeting the requirements of the order but want the court to extend the deadline by an additional 23 days.

The lawyers said the parties have diligently moved the EEMC selection process forward in order to meet the deadlines but they need more time to complete the process and maximize the likelihood of identifying qualified candidates.

The lawyers said in order to focus on the best qualified potential EEMCs and to narrow the number of potential applicants, the parties will independently review the responses and narrow that initial list based upon qualifications, experience, and other relevant data.

The narrowed list of potential EEMCs will then be asked to provide more details such as specific project experience rates for labor categories, and indirect rates.

The parties, they said, will further evaluate the additional information in order to finalize a list of potential EEMCs that will then be discussed as part of the formal meet and confer process.

Upon completion of the EEMC evaluation process, the parties will provide the court with a list of qualified potential EEMCs.

In Carter’s September order, the EEMC will be appointed for a five-year period, unless the appointment is terminated by either party, with the court’s approval.

The $22.8 million that the CNMI government will deposit is intended to reimburse the EEMC’s expenses and shall not be utilized for CUC’s day-to-day expenses. The funds shall be used solely for approved EEMC’s expenses for Stipulated Order 2 projects.

CUC currently has about $2.27 million in grant funding available for SO2 projects.
The SO2 projects approved for this funding include the CUC pipeline; tank erection cleanout and testing; secondary containment; and used oil disposal.