Govt scales back Tinian and Rota landfill projects

After years of planning and pushing for the construction of sanitary landfills on Tinian and Rota, the government has decided to scale back both projects and they are now in danger of being cancelled, according to Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality administrator Frank M. Rabauliman.
He said that inspectors from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are scheduled to arrive in the Commonwealth in two weeks’ time to meet with those in charge of the landfill projects.

“The last time I checked with the CIP [Capital Improvement Project] Office, I was given the information that they are scaling back these projects. That’s my understanding now,” Rabauliman said.

It will be recalled that some years back, the legislative delegations of the two islands set aside funding for these projects, to be sourced from the untouched CIP monies for each island and some portion of 702 monies.

The CNMI government in February 2010 even solicited bids for the architectural and engineering design of the long-awaited Tinian sanitary landfill, which had some $5.4 million in available federal and local funding then. This amount would cover the planning and actual construction of the landfill and the transfer station.

Tinian has an open dump, which is the subject of health and environmental concerns by local and federal agencies. The dump is located southwest of Tinian and near the airport.

Rabauliman said the Tinian project was a bit complicated because construction of the new landfill was being eyed behind the fence of a land that was leased by the U.S. military, which earlier asserted that they may need to close access to the area in the event of trainings. This would require Tinian to build a transfer station that would be able to accommodate waste for a longer period of time.

For this landfill project alone, close to $800,000 has already been spent to develop an environmental impact assessment.

For the Rota landfill project, an environmental impact study was planned and commissioned to determine the viability of having a fully operational sanitary landfill. The then-Fitial administration allocated $1.6 million in CIP monies for the construction of a landfill on Rota.

Rabauliman believes that the decision to scale back the projects was primarily due to the low customer base on both islands.

“Perhaps the customer base on both islands may not be enough to sustain a permitted fully operational landfill like what we have on Saipan,” he told Saipan Tribune.

The Saipan landfill was commissioned and designed based on a 70,000 population back then.

‘Administrative orders in 2 islands still in effect’

The defunct Division of Environmental Quality, then headed by Rabauliman, issued in 2010 administrative orders to all three landfills on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota.

Of these orders, Rabauliman said the ones for Tinian and Rota remain in effect and will continue to take effect until both satisfy the concerns of the agency and the EPA.

Rabauliman said the Saipan landfill, which was once slapped by a $15,000 fine for violating environmental standards, was able to rectify the problems uncovered by inspectors, including concern over defective and dilapidated pumps.

Both Tinian and Rota operate “open dumps”—without cover and segregation as among the environmental requirements.

Rabauliman described the “still in effect” citation for both open dumps as pretty much based on operational stuff and not necessarily on huge capital investment. He cited as an example the lack of some equipment such as bulldozers.

With the landfill projects now scaled back, Rabauliman said the CIP office will aid both islands in procuring these operational stuff instead of building new dumpsites or transfer stations.

“Tinian and Rota, I believe, are addressing at present some of those compliance issues that do not require a lot of capital. But until all requirements are satisfied, the administrative orders will remain in effect,” he said.

Despite the existence of administrative orders, the bureau has yet to penalize both islands.

Updates

When asked for comments yesterday, press secretary Angel Demapan said he was informed by the CIP office that the design for the Tinian landfill has been completed.

Meantime, the design for the Rota landfill was recently awarded to EA Science Engineering, and the topographic and property surveys are now complete.

“This project will comply with the Division of Environmental Quality’s Solid Waste Guidelines for small jurisdictions generating 15 tons/day of trash. It does not require a subtitle D design or the liner system. The progress of the design is 22 percent as of today. The expected completion date is sometime in June 2014,” added Demapan