Press Secretary Charles P. Reyes Jr., for his part, said based on their consultations with the local Attorney General’s Office and FEMA, Sablan and Tenorio “have an inaccurate interpretation of the Stafford Act, which is more oriented toward natural disasters.”
According to Sablan, however, “in the Stafford Act, Congress finds that ‘disasters often cause loss of life, human suffering, loss of income, and property damage,’ and that they ‘often disrupt the normal functioning of governments and communities and adversely affect individuals and families with great severity.’ Do these observations apply to the [Commonwealth Utilities Corp.] crisis and its impacts on our community? Of course they do. Is there anyone living here who can deny that?”
She added, “In accordance with the governor’s press secretary’s suggestion, I have read the Stafford Act as well as its definitions section, and I maintain that it would apply in our case. One FEMA official told the [Fitial] administration that she didn’t think it would apply — well, I would be very interested in finding out what information she received from the administration to come to that conclusion. Other FEMA officials have apparently said otherwise, and a plain reading of the Act would also suggest otherwise. I am also not at all surprised that the attorney general concurs with the administration’s reading of the Stafford Act. This is, after all, the same AG that recently opined that CUC is not part of the government.”
Tenorio said the FEMA Region 9 official “was not entirely accurate in her assessment.”
He added, “I have to wonder if Region 9 staff has been misrepresented. There is clearly precedent for this request.”
Man-made disasters, he said, “like our power plant problems, for example, are indeed considered matters that are eligible for presidential declaration and FEMA’s assistance.”
There are two kinds of requests that will trigger presidential action, he said. “One, an ‘emergency,’ and the other, ‘major disaster.’ Our power plant and energy crisis issues fall under the first definition for purposes of presidential declaration and FEMA’s assistance.”
Tenorio cited two FEMA press releases regarding an Aug. 2003 power failure in New York and the Aug. 2007 Minnesota bridge collapse.
“There is no question about the Saipan power crisis’ eligibility,” Tenorio said. “The crisis is so blatantly clear and needs maximum public attention and redress…. A simple letter of request [from the governor] for [a federal] emergency declaration, disaster declaration, or any other related reasons directed to our president will result in federal action.”
Tenorio has already asked President Bush for “federal intervention in the ongoing CNMI energy crisis.”
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial, who wants to sue the federal government over the CNMI federalization law, said he “welcomes any help [Tenorio] can get because I am not against anything that is good.”
Tenorio has expressed support for the protest action against the power crisis on Wednesday, 5:30 p.m., Sept. 17, at the Garapan Fishing Base. Participants will request federal assistance.
Tenorio, who is running for congressional delegate, said he hopes his opponents will also support or join the rally.
Reyes said Tenorio is
“merely using his letter to President Bush as a publicity stunt for his delegate election, in order to try to stay relevant in a crowded race.”
He added, “Although some might consider this too little, too late, this is actually nothing, because the Act does not apply, and too late, because we have already solved the problem using the Aggreko generators that were so strongly opposed, questioned, criticized, and attacked by both Rep. Sablan and Pete A. Had we followed their advice not to use the proven Aggreko engines, we might still be in a power crisis today. Instead, we now have reliable power since the Aggreko generators were activated Friday evening.”
Reyes said the administration “finally solved our power crisis (over the short term) by executing the governor’s plan, which was so strongly and irrationally opposed for political and other reasons. The governor and [Commonwealth Utilities Corp. Executive Director] Tony Muna deserve credit for accomplishing this important mission for the people and economy of the CNMI.”
According to Sablan, “If the governor and the attorney general could read the Stafford Act, in light of the increasingly dire state of our public utilities, and still come to the conclusion that it would not apply to the CNMI, then something is terribly wrong and it is not just with CUC. What we have on our hands is not only a utilities crisis, it is a crisis of leadership. The governor’s refusal to make the request for federal intervention only confirms our belief that resolving our CUC crisis is beyond the capabilities of this local government, that federal receivership, investigation, and oversight are in order, and that the people must rise up and petition the federal government for assistance when their leaders have failed them so abysmally.”
