The concern over the dysfunctional sewer system follows a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers report issued in 2010 that said Ebeye’s sewer system for the 12,000 population has not worked in more than five years, and laid out a blueprint for fixing infrastructure problems on this small island next to the missile testing at Kwajalein Atoll. No action has been taken in the year since the Army report was issued last June.
The Marshall Islands EPA’s Chief Environmental Specialist on Ebeye, Odrikawa Jatios, described waste oil as a “major concern” on Ebeye. About 12,000 people live crowded on just 80 acres of land on Ebeye, the island that houses islanders who work at the Army base.
“There has been a lot of illegal dumping of waste oil at the dump site and we have been meeting with business owners to (ask them) not dispose it at the dump,” Jatios said.
EPA’s Ebeye office is contacting companies on Guam that handle disposal of waste oil to find out the cost of shipping waste oil to Guam for final disposal.
Jatios also expressed worry about Ebeye’s non-working sewer system. Ebeye’s sewer plant has worked for more than five years because the equipment is old and inadequate in size to service the current population.
“Raw sewage is being released directly to the lagoon approximately 500 feet offshore,” Jatios said.
