CUC told the federal court that it already concluded negotiations and started the work on its master plan project.
CUC legal counsel Deborah Fisher, in her report to the U.S. District Court for the NMI, said copies of the executed contract and the notice to proceed were submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Aug. 4.
“All the project documents provided detailed information of the tasks, roles, level of efforts and costs of the project elements. All of these tasks and efforts have been derived from [Stipulated Order 1] and the approved RFP, and we are confident that the master plan is a comprehensive project that complies with the intent of SO1,” she said.
She said the notice to proceed was given on Aug. 16 which officially started the 270-day timeline for completion of the drafts of the master plan as required by the stipulated order.
EPA earlier told CUC that the scope of work for the master plan not be reduced during the contract negotiation.
According to EPA, CUC had indicated it was only budgeting available grant funding for the project that was likely insufficient to cover the full cost of the required work.
In her report, Fisher said CUC and EPA previously discussed the projects, their funding and the scope of work.
“We are confident that the master plan negotiations have resulted in a quality master planning project and overall deliverable, and do not believe that the available grant funding will be insufficient to cover the full cost of the work,” she noted.
She said the “operational scope of work contracted comports with Stipulated Order 1 requirements and parallels the EPA approved request for proposals.”
Under the scope of work, CUC is required to complete the drinking water master plan in conformance with the stipulated order and to obtain EPA approval.
The excerpt from the project document also stated the purpose of the contract is to retain the consultant to help develop the master plan in accordance with the stipulated order.
