AGREEING that most of Stipulated Order 2 has been completed, the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are asking the federal court to approve a joint stipulation that calls for a partial termination and modification of SO2.
The parties also agree that the Engineering and Environmental Management Company or EEMC appointment order and other orders related to EEMC work may be terminated.
According to the stipulation filed on Jan. 31, 2022, because SO2 imposes other requirements on CUC that are ongoing or not yet complete, “such requirements shall remain in full force and effect, and the court retains jurisdiction to enforce them.”
These requirements include, among others, hiring a qualified technical manager for oil; ensuring that oil from any of the power plant facilities and CUC pipeline does not enter navigable waters, and taking all necessary steps to remove such discharges and threats of discharges of oil; securing all sources of oil discharges and taking appropriate measures to prevent further discharges, including providing primary and secondary containment for tanks, pipelines, drums and containers of questionable integrity in compliance with spill prevention control and Countermeasure regulations; and complying with the reporting requirements under Section 311(b)(5) of the Clean Water Act and Section 304 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986.
The parties also agree that the modifications of SO2 are non-material under SO2.
The joint stipulation was signed by Department of Justice attorney Elizabeth L. Loeb, CNMI Attorney General Edward Manibusan, and the CUC legal counsel, Assistant Attorney General Hunter Hunt.
In Nov. 2008, after the Environmental Protection Agency 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 drinking water issues while SO2 focuses on oil issues such as requiring CUC to repair and replace oil storage and operation infrastructure, manage tank and pipeline facilities, and require spill and emergency response equipment and protocols.
In a recent status, Loeb informed the court that “multiple major projects to improve CUC’s infrastructure have been completed.”
These include the construction of the CUC pipeline and Tank 102; major repairs to Tank 103; replacement of horizontal tanks and associated piping at Power Plant 4; improved facility drainage at CUC’s power plants; improved facility waste management at CUC’s power plants; and the repair and construction of secondary containment at the power plants to minimize the likelihood of future oil spills.
Designated Judge David O. Carter of the District Court for the NMI has scheduled a status conference for Feb. 11 at 9 a.m.
