By Gemma Q. Casas
Variety News Staff

A VISITING official from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. has made progress with its sewerage system but more must be done to protect the islands’ environment.
Patricia Young, a program manager at the EPA, said CUC has shown improvement in handling wastewater overflows but the agency would like to see more improvement in the area.
“In the past, they (CUC) have had sewer overflows. They seem to be improving but there are still improvements to be made to address those things,” said the California-based Young.
Young and EPA Water Division Engineer Barry F. Pollock arrived on island last week for a groundbreaking ceremony for the nearly $3 million Kannat Tabla million-gallon tank and waterline project.
The EPA is funding the project that is expected to generate an additional 1 million gallons of water on Saipan once it is completed in early 2008.
Young is scheduled to make a field visit to the Agingan sewer plant this week.
She said CUC had finally secured a contractor to fix the Agingan sewage treatment plant which had been previously cited by the EPA for numerous environmental violations.
In 2005, the EPA warned it would impose monetary fines of up to $37,500 per day until CUC had come up with the necessary local matching funds to construct a new outfall at the Agingan sewage treatment plant.
The project was estimated to cost over $5.6 million and would entail replacing the existing intertidal outfall serving villages near the area such as San Antonio and Koblerville.
A 1,100-foot-long, 24-inch outer diameter high density polyethylene pipeline will be constructed to discharge secondary treated wastewater at depth of about 100 feet in the ocean.
“I’m going to go out and visit (the Agingan sewer plant). I think the contractor is on board,” said Young.
She said the EPA will help CUC solve its problems with water and wastewater and not focus so much on the pollution coming from the government-owned power plants.
“Right now, we’re concentrating on the water and wastewater. We haven’t really looked into the air emission (problem) at the power plants (of CUC),” said Young.
CUC’s power plants run on diesel fuel.
Except for the Tinian power plant, all have problems with air emission control.