How the ‘Build Back Better’ plan can benefit US territories

Editor’s note: The following is the author’s written testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources’ oversight hearing last March 24, 2021, on “How the Biden Administration’s Build Back Better plan can benefit the U.S. territories.” It is being published as a series due to its length.

First of a series

As a nation, we have collectively realized for many years now that our infrastructure is in a critical state. This is no less true in the CNMI and, in fact, is magnified, due primarily to the decades of pre-Commonwealth neglect and lack of infrastructure development and to extreme natural and weather-related challenges to our infrastructure, and a lack of adequate funding resources. As the newest member of the US political family charged with the complete modernization of a pre-World War II infrastructure and limited resources, this challenge has been tremendous. 

The “Build Back Better” initiative aligns with and is supported by “Smart, Safe Growth” planning and project implementation efforts in the CNMI. This framework has been developed in partnership with local development planning and regulatory agencies supported by the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Region IX Pacific Islands Office. After experiencing two 100-year super typhoons within a three-year period, we worked to develop the Guidance Manual for Smart, Safe Growth that highlights strategies to ensure the growth of communities with thriving economies and healthy environments that are resilient to natural disasters. Smart, Safe Growth uses a concept of “comprehensive planning” that emerges from the intersection of three key areas of practice—hazard mitigation, climate impact adaptation, and smart growth— each associated with its own policy guidance and best practices. “Building Back Better” as well as prioritizing wise investments in nature-based solutions such as those reflected in President Biden’s “30 x 30” initiative, will help CNMI and the entire nation invest in critical infrastructure and address resource needs to ensure communities can continue to grow while withstanding current and future weather events and natural hazards with minimal physical damage or disruption.

In communities across the United States, investments have built upon centuries of development that have eased the costs required to maintain safe, adequate, and modern infrastructure networks. In the CNMI, modern development has only been witnessed in the last four decades as investment built upon a landscape torn by years of war and colonial rule. The needs, and the costs, of building a quality, modern infrastructure for the thousands of American citizens that call these islands home are not adequately represented in contrast to those of other American communities. 

The state of our infrastructure directly impacts the quality of life of our residents, our economic development, and our environment. While we have made tremendous progress in the transformation of our road systems, power grids, water and sewage systems, landfills, air and sea port developments, and public transportation systems, we have not had the funding resources necessary to address the breadth of our infrastructure needs, and certainly not in a planned wholistic, sustainable, and resilient way.

Should the infrastructure and development needs of the territories, especially the CNMI, be envisioned by a national effort toward modernizing our nation’s infrastructure, a holistic and multi-sectoral approach is necessary.
 
The history of infrastructure in the CNMI
In 1986, the CNMI inherited from the Trust Territory government a substandard infrastructure of severely dilapidated or completely unpaved roads, pre-WWII water delivery systems, an unreliable power generation system that was often offline, underdeveloped air and sea ports, and a communications system unable to meet the needs of the coming digital age. Much of our new Commonwealth’s infrastructure, roads, water wells and distribution systems, and the power grid, were remnants of the pre-WWII Japanese administration and some later repairs and the paving of some thoroughfares during the post-WWII Naval administration. At the inception of the Commonwealth, the new government found itself confronted with an over 50-year old and badly degraded road, water, and power distribution infrastructure and environmentally hazardous wastewater and landfill conditions. Wastewater and road drainage systems were largely nonexistent. Air and sea ports, schools, hospitals, and other public facilities were also in significantly substandard states.

The newly formed Commonwealth set out on a course of infrastructure improvement, developing new roads and repaving roads, lighting roadways, replacing water pipes, bringing new water wells online, correcting environmentally hazardous wastewater treatment and expanding the sewer system, bringing new generators online, constructing new solid waste landfill facilities, and a myriad of other efforts to bring the infrastructure and public facilities of the CNMI’s three main populated islands to a state of relative modernity.  

More recently, two catastrophic tropical storms, super-typhoons Soudelor in 2015 and Yutu in 2018, had devastating effects on the infrastructure of our three major islands, destroying the power grid, damaging or completely destroying public facilities including our airports and most of our schools, and adversely affecting our newly launched public transportation service. 

Today, the CNMI is applying “Smart, Safe Growth” and “Complete Streets” concepts to support prioritization, investment, and enhancement of our critical infrastructure. This multi-disciplinary approach supports long-term planning needs for people and the economy as well as our built and natural environment. This existing framework is well suited to catalyze national “Building Back Better” efforts. Similar to other territories and rural areas, historic infrastructure deployment and capacity challenges will need to be addressed to modernize critical facilities and help our community imagine and build a resilient and more sustainable future. 
 
The state of infrastructure in the CNMI
The island of Saipan has the most developed infrastructure in the CNMI, with 82.5 miles of major roadways, the largest power generation system, the only EPA-certified RCRA compliant landfill facility, and an integrated wastewater management system. Some of this infrastructure builds upon the landmass of the island that allows for 14 wellfields throughout the island to provide water to the population. Saipan houses both the largest airport and most active seaport facilities in the CNMI that provide critical access for visitors to support our sole tourism industry and goods to be shipped in support of domestic consumption and commercial development. The CNMI’s sole hospital is on Saipan that supports the needs of the CNMI population throughout the islands. 

Yet, despite the capacity relative within the Northern Mariana Islands, these crucial infrastructure systems on Saipan are critically outdated, at capacity, or in need of substantial maintenance in order to maintain adequate standards equal to that of the larger United States. 

Current power generation is provided by a network of electrical generators as old as the Commonwealth government itself. Within the three power plants on Saipan, only one is presently operating and doing so with the support of rented generator units procured to support the lack of capacity caused by required engine maintenance. Within Power Plant 1, the average age of the generating units is 36 years old. Maintenance on these units is delayed as the parts required to perform such maintenance requires the custom building of parts that are no longer in production at exorbitant costs. 

The state of the present generators precludes the installation of large-scale renewable energy platforms as the generator speed and reliability struggles to meet the intermittent fluctuations of power generation seen in solar and wind production.

Approximately 90% of the CNMI’s water supply comes from over 200 shallow wells. The low land elevation of the islands and proximity to the sea level makes it difficult to recover fresh water. Sustained dry weather and the need to over-pump to provide an adequate supply, directly affect water quality. The current water collection system and rates of ground-water production are not currently adequate for providing residents with a potable water supply. To compensate for this, most of the islands’ residents and businesses supplement supply with site-built water catchment tanks and in cases standalone reverse osmosis systems.

Saipan’s wastewater management is supported by two wastewater treatment plants, built in between 1960 and 1985. These plants are severely in need of repair and replacement as age and weather conditions have deteriorated their efficacy and reliability to perform the critical task of treating the wastewater produced by the CNMI’s largest population center. 

Since the redevelopment and reconstruction following World War II, the U.S. Navy established a dock facility to dispose of waste. This dumpsite became known as Puerto Rico dump, which was the site for municipal waste between 1953 and 2003. In 1994, EPA issued an administrative order mandating the closure of Puerto Rico dump due to several violations of the Clean Water Act. In 2003, Puerto Rico dump was officially closed and the EPA certified landfill in Marpi was opened. 

The Marpi Landfill has the capacity of about one million cubic yards with the approximate lifespan of 20 to 25 years. The landfill encompasses a space of 43 acres with one transfer station and was developed at the cost of about $18.5 million.

To date, two of the six cells have been completed, however the increased demand caused by Super Typhoon Yutu has accelerated the waste stream of the developed cells, shortening the anticipated lifespan of the facility. 

The Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport is the largest and highest volume airport in the CNMI. The SPN airfield is 8,700 feet long and 150 feet wide, with one parallel and eight connecting taxiways. The airfield has the aircraft capacity of the B747-400, but has supported the landing of larger aircraft such as the Antonov An-225 Mriya. 

The Port of Saipan is the highest traffic seaport facility in the CNMI and is considered to be one of the CNMI’s most significant economic zones. The port spans over 1,000 feet in length and can dock three large cargo vessels of 250 to 300 feet in length. The port is considered a “world-class” facility with 2,600 linear feet of berthing space, a 22-acre container yard, a water line, underground fuel distribution, and subterranean sewage removal system.

The conditions of infrastructure on the islands of Tinian and Rota are more severe, with numerous needs for the creation of critical infrastructure where none exists. 

On both Tinian and Rota the populations do not have an integrated wastewater system, and do not have a wastewater treatment facility. Much of the wastewater is managed by septic systems in a decentralized management system, that increases risk to the islands’ underground aquifer.

Neither Tinian nor Rota have an EPA-approved landfill site, and present solid waste is managed by a surface waste dump. 

The present, Tinian landfill is an open dump site of approximately 20 thousand cubic yards. The landfill is currently in violation of regulations by the EPA and CNMI Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality (BECQ) and, at current flow of solid waste, is estimated to meet capacity in coming years. 

Similar to Tinian, solid waste in Rota is received by an open dump of approximately 20 thousand cubic yards and is in violation of EPA and BECQ regulatory requirements.

On Tinian, the only active source for freshwater is the Maui II horizontal well, skimmed from the Marpo swamp that is charged by rainfall. The Marpo swamp wetland area is exposed basal lens groundwater. This present system presents challenges to the construction and development of the newly approved U.S. Airforce divert airfield, which is presently working toward construction on the Tinian International Airport. 

Most of the island of Rota’s freshwater comes from two water caves within the Sabana region. These caves are nestled between limestone rocks and low-permeability volcanic rocks. The two caves are known as the Main Cave located at 1,150 feet above sea level and the other, Onan Spring at the same elevation.

To be continued

Ralph DLG Torres (Special to the Saipan Tribune)
Ralph DLG Torres is governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.