The Commonwealth Utilities Corporation board of directors and management met on Thursday to discuss the stipulated order status conferences as well as the unpaid utility bills of the CNMI government, including the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation.
THE Commonwealth Utilities Corporation will pay the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency a penalty of $108,000 — instead of $162,600 — for critical vacancy violations.
“The truth is we were non-compliant, we have not filled the positions,” acting CUC Executive Director Betty Terlaje told reporters Thursday.
EPA earlier demanded that CUC pay a penalty of $162,600 but agreed to the lesser amount of $108,000.
In a letter to Terlaje on Feb. 7, EPA-Enforcement & Compliance Assurance Division Director Amy C. Miller-Bowen said, “The position of Executive Director became vacant on February 22, 2023. Paragraph 8 of the Stipulated Order provides that CUC must appoint another qualified individual within one hundred fifty days of the date of the vacancy, or by July 22, 2023. The position of Chief Financial Officer became vacant on May 21, 2023. Paragraph 14 of the Stipulated Order provides that CUC must appoint another qualified individual within one hundred fifty days of the date of the vacancy, or by October 18, 2023.”
Terlaje said, “We negotiated with EPA, and we asked them to consider that we have hired an executive director recently. They…came back and offered us a lower amount of $108,000.”
She added, “EPA supports CUC in many other ways with projects…and grants. They are doing their job; we did not fill the vacancies and that’s what we got to pay.”
On Feb. 23, 2024, the CUC board unanimously approved the hiring of Christopher Theisen as executive director for two years with an annual salary of $200,000.
Theisen, a registered and licensed professional engineer in California, will also receive a one-year allowance for housing, vehicle, relocations costs, and standard benefits.
As for the CFO position, Terlaje said there are three applicants.
“CUC received a new applicant recently, which we are happy about,” she said. “It was stagnant for some time, [but] for some reason this week, we got an additional two applications for the CFO position. Altogether we have three applications that are pending now,” she added.
“EPA has vetted one of the applicants and the other two we will get that to EPA…and we will start the interview process…. Hopefully from this batch of applicants we will find a suitable CFO,” Terlaje said.
