“Judge David Carter stressed the importance of cleaning up oil, protecting the environment from potential oil spills by completing secondary containment, repairing the tanks on Rota and metering all water customers,” Malae told Variety.
The major concern, however, was the oil pipeline that transfers diesel oil from the Mobil terminal to the power plants in Lower Base, he added.
He said diesel oil is pumped once or twice a week, depending on the amount of cash CUC has to pay for delivery which amounts to 1.2 million gallons per month.
The diesel oil to Power Plant 4 in Puerto Rico is hauled in by a tanker truck, he said.
During the consent decree hearing, the CNMI was represented by Attorney General Ed Buckingham, CUC general counsel Deborah Fisher and the power generation technical staff.
Carter as well as representatives of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice attended the hearing through video-conference.
Malae said Carter inquired about the status of the existing pipeline.
CUC responded that it leaks occasionally and this is the reason for the 24/7 guard duty.
“The judge was extremely concerned and will ask for [the pipeline’s] status at the next hearing,” Malae said.
The next hearing was set for March 1, 2011.
Without the necessary funding, CUC will fail to meet the stipulated order two on oil management mandates, Malae said.
Some $2 million is needed to complete the pipeline project alone, he added.
The U.S. Department of Interior funded the design but the construction remains unfunded, Malae said.
CUC is now seeking financing from Interior and the U.S. Department of Energy.
“Borrowing remains an option and is one of the reasons why the utility is asking for a base rate increase through the Public Utilities Commission,” Malae said.
He said the funding for the pipeline is just a fraction of the $11 million needed to address all the oil management needs as well as purchase a new management information system.
According to Malae, customer service remains a challenge as the present system crashes regularly, creating havoc with billings.
He said CUC is without a technical manager for oil, or TMO, and despite the advertisements published in U.S. trade journals only four individuals applied — no one met the requirements.
“The short list of applicants is submitted to the EPA for vetting but there is no guarantee that an unsuitable candidate will [not] slip through. We have asked a ‘head-hunter’ to help us find a TMO,” he said.
