Now we know why the governor has kept issuing emergency declarations month after month. They allowed him to get away with bypassing local regulations by bullying local departments. Did he think he could bypass federal regulations and orders as well?
You want more evidence of CUC’s recalcitrance? Easy; just take a look at the federal register for the last year. Every day, there are between 5 and 15 notices of filings, compliances, proposals, and other actions from all over the country by utility companies. It has amounted to around 3,500 plus entries — and not a single one of them has been from the CNMI in spite of EPA orders.
Could it be that CUC signed those orders with no intention to actually comply with them? The EPA described the noncompliance of CUC as “alarming.” In federal parlance, that’s about as strong as you can get. In fact, the term is usually reserved to describe fanatical activities in rogue states.
The EPA is considering what steps to take next and, while the wheels sometimes grind slowly, one very real choice is for the federal government to undertake the work needed to comply with the orders and then send a BILL to the CNMI for work done. My personal estimate for all of it: Somewhere around $10 million; up to $25 million or more if they decide to include air compliance as well!
I’ll just bet the only response from CUC will be denial AND that oft repeated threat to “raise rates” as the only option. Well, I feel sorry for the next governor, because all this load of garbage is going to come right down around the next guys head.
There have been many opportunities for CUC to plan a path of recovery. CUC has even brought three highly qualified managers on board, albeit under reluctant obedience to federal instructions in order to receive millions in federal monies for repairs of a doomed generation capacity. They have actually made some technical rehabilitative progress, but were they simply brought here as window dressing to satisfy the appearance of managerial capacity for the short term? Who wants to take bets on how long they will stick around under the thumb of all this political flim-flam?
The governors’ skullduggery and the legislatures’ petty tinkering in ill-fated attempts to substitute poor law for poor management along with an abominable disdain to work with federal authorities may have finally sunk the ship.
So what now, Governor? All of this was foretold and suggestions made in various letters to the editor since 2004 and particularly of 8/15/08; 09/02/08; 10/02/08; 11/12/08; and 12/09/08 to name a few. It appears you and your minions don’t take well to suggestions that differ from your own. Well, now we see the consequences your way of obtaining a more stable power supply has wrought — so far. The piper is piping; federal receivership has been called for; now is the time.
DR. THOMAS D. ARKLE JR.
San Jose, Tinian
