Early this month, he filed a complaint in Superior Court, claiming that CUC violated the constitutional rights of the people when it provided non-potable and highly chlorinated water to its customers.
Atalig said he will also include CUC’s noncompliance with the federal stipulated orders. This, he added, has affected the groundwater because of the extensive presence of oil around the facility of CUC’s power plant.
He said he is only citing a fact that illustrates CUC’s continuous violation of the Clean Water Act, the Oil Pollution Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act.
“This is a foremost concern of the environment and the health of the people,” he said, adding that the public should be aware of how CUC is addressing these issues.
EPA recently informed the federal court about the “extensive presence of oil in the groundwater beneath and around the facility of Power Plants 1 and 2.”
EPA told CUC to clean up of the facility but the utilities agency said it did not have the resources to do so.
Over the past few months, EPA has been planning and obtaining necessary permits from the Division of Environmental Quality, Coastal Resource Management and the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System for the cleanup.
Due to the historic significance of the facility location and the discovery of pre-historic artifacts in the immediate area, EPA said it is having difficulty obtaining a National Historic Preservation Act permit.
But EPA reported that initial supplies for the cleanup are already on island.
