Senators listen to the acting Commonwealth Utilities Corp. executive director, Betty Terlaje, back to the camera, during a session on Tuesday.
Betty Terlaje
THE Commonwealth Utilities Corp. has been struggling to fill the positions of executive director and chief financial officer, its officials said.
Acting CUC Executive Director Betty Terlaje and CUC Board Chair Janice A. Tenorio appeared before the Senate on Tuesday to respond to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Justice, which are seeking federal court intervention to address CUC’s failure to hire qualified applicants for key management positions as required by the stipulated orders.
Terlaje told the senators that CUC “has broadened its search, has actively reached out to members of the utility community to inquire after their interest in the position, and has consistently posted the job details in relevant industry and recruitment platforms.”
She said CUC is competing with utilities in the U.S. when it comes to recruiting key personnel.
“It is difficult to convince people to move to the other side of the world when there are competitive salaries at home,” Terlaje said, referring to the states.
She said CUC must make sure that the candidates it attracts are not only qualified, but are also serious about the position they’re applying for.
Terlaje said while the DOJ and EPA’s admonition sounded “heavy-handed,” there is no other way to describe the situation: “Because we lack these positions, we are simply not in compliance,” she added.
However, she said, considering that EPA has always been in CUC’s corner, “we do not interpret this as punishment, and the stipulated orders provide a venue for us to conduct informal dispute resolution and negotiate with the federal agency.”
She said it is clear to EPA that rather than imposing a fine on CUC for its “understandable difficulties, it would be much more prudent to direct … funds toward attracting a qualified candidate to apply, whether by offering a high salary or other incentives.”
In its latest status report submitted to the federal court, EPA said it is demanding that CUC pay a penalty of $162,600 — or 12% of the accrued penalties — for failing to fill critical position vacancies.
Astronomical progress
Terlaje also told the Senate that other than filling the positions of executive director and CFO, CUC has made “astronomical progress” last year in filling other stipulated-order-positions, which had been vacant for a long time.
As for stipulated order items pertaining to the environment, Terlaje said CUC has “consistently answered the call, stepped up and remedied problems.”
Last year, she said, when EPA and the designated federal judge visited Saipan and Tinian, they were extremely pleased with the work CUC had done.
With the exception of filling the positions of executive director and CFO, Terlaje said “it is fair to say” that EPA and the federal court are still very pleased with the progress that CUC has made.
“I personally stand behind everything that we have done toward accomplishing these tasks,” she said. “We have good people working at CUC, and I am proud of each and every one of them.”
Terlaje said CUC will be working with EPA in the coming weeks to negotiate a “productive resolution to the issue.”
Background
In November 2008, after EPA cited CUC for violating the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act, the federal court issued Stipulated Orders 1 and 2.
SO1 focuses on CUC’s management structure, drinking water and wastewater issues, such as requiring CUC to provide safe drinking water to residents on a 24-hour basis, maintaining adequate chlorine supplies, safely treating and discharging wastewater, developing long-term capital improvement and financial plans, and implementing the projects described in the Master Plan. SO1 also restructures CUC’s organization to reflect a typically functioning utility and requires that key employees possess appropriate education and experience levels.
SO2 focuses on oil issues and requires CUC to repair and replace oil storage units and operation infrastructure, manage tank and pipeline facilities, facility wastes, facility drainage and storm water runoff. CUC is also required to maintain infrastructure and implement spill and emergency response protocols.
