THE Commonwealth Utilities Corp. on Monday submitted to the District Court for the NMI updates of projects required by the stipulated orders.
Through the Office of the Attorney General, CUC submitted to Federal Judge David O. Carter presentations on Stipulated Orders 1 and 2 as well as an updated report on non-revenue water for the first quarter of fiscal year 2024.
These documents, according to Assistant Attorney General Hunter D. Hunt, were presented in court during the status conference held Monday to Friday last week.
The document pertaining to Stipulated Order 1 provides the status on the hiring of an executive director, a chief engineer, a chief financial officer, among others.
According to the report, the CUC board’s approval to hire an executive director was accepted by a candidate on Feb. 23, 2024, and the recruitment process for the CFO is still ongoing while the negotiation on the offer in the hiring of a chief engineer is underway.
CUC also reported a decrease in non-revenue water on Saipan, from 67% in 2022 to 65% in 2023. CUC said the goal is to reduce it to 50% this year by replacing non-metered standpipes with prepaid card water filling stations for farmers and customers who don’t have access to distribution water.
This will help account for water not metered in the past, and increase water revenue, CUC said.
About the stipulated orders
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 while SO2 pertains to oil issues.
