CUC Executive Director Abe Utu Malae said they filed a notice with the U.S. District Court for the NMI and the U.S. Department of Justice, requesting for an additional 90 days to fulfill all tank system cleanouts and secondary containment assessment.
He said the tank cleanouts on Rota have yet to be done as they require bidding while Saipan’s Power Plant 4 administered by the Pacific Marine and Industrial Corp. has yet to submit a formal cleanout plan.
According to CUC, the deadline for the tank system cleanout is Feb.15, 2011.
The tank system cleanout pertains to the “cleaning and integrity testing” of all CUC tanks, as mandated by the 2nd stipulated order.
In the notice, Deborah E. Fisher, general counsel for CUC, said the corporation has successfully completed most of the requirements of the tank system cleanout plan last week: the emptying and shipping of all used oil at the Rota facility.
“[The Environmental Protection Agency] approved CUC’s request to recycle used oil being shipped from Rota. This provides the commonwealth’s business community with an opportunity to save on imported diesel fuel which recently has become more expensive. This work was completed last week and all the used oil in tanks, transformers and drums at the Rota facility were emptied pursuant to the approval received,” Fisher stated in the notice.
Malae said CUC requested for a 90-day extension regarding the completion of the secondary containment assessment in anticipation of delays in the completion caused by several unforeseen situations.
The deadline for these assessments is March 7, 2011.
He said construction designs and plans, as well as changes in the CNMI Uniform Building Code, are the reasons for the delay in the assessment of Power Plants 1 and 2.
“There was a redesign of the berm repair for the incinerator to increase the wall height to accommodate the required containment volume,” he added.
“There was a discovery of buried high tension power cables which was not known previously and required a change of design,” he said.
According to Malae, weather conditions also delayed the project implementation at Power Plants 1 and 2.
In addition, recent changes to the CNMI Uniform Building Code required the structure to be able to withstand up to 175 mph — revised from 155 mph — wind speed, which will require heavier trusses and bracing, he said.
“There was a need to extend the truck unloading area to allow safe maneuvering of fuel trucks which would be backing up in the berm,” he added.
Regarding Power Plant 4, CUC said PMIC only recently finalized the work plans for the secondary containment.
“Their initial design had not accounted for the changes at the facility due to the relocation of the generator sets and associated piping,” Malae said.
A revised secondary containment design was approved with comments by the EPA on Jan. 29, 2011.
PMIC closed the bid and CUC provided EPA the details regarding the contractor.
On Feb. 8, 2011 CUC made a submission to the EPA disclosing the “discovery of cracks” in some berms.
CUC said it expects that PMIC will engage a competent person to assess its containment plan and propose corrective steps as required.
In Nov. 2008, the U.S. Department of Justice and the EPA signed and lodged two stipulated orders in federal court seeking to reform and bring into compliance CUC’s wastewater plants and collection systems, public drinking water systems, five power plants and an oil transfer pipeline.
