“I will be one of the primary contacts with the Environmental Protection Agency for the stipulated orders,” he said.
Fletcher, who has 30 years experience in utility construction, management, operations and logistics, financial management, and policy formation, reported for work at CUC last week.
He said he was impressed with the steady progress CUC has made in meeting its stipulated order deadlines.
“We have been able to boost water supplies to many areas as well as fill critical technical positions,” he said, despite the challenges of limited funds and personnel.
“I believe we can continue to overcome the challenges and meet the stipulated order requirements, especially with the help of partners such as the Office of Insular Affairs, the EPA, and Water Task Force,” he told Variety in an email interview.
Fletcher said he sees his role as a clearinghouse for information and someone who will help provide the resources for meeting requirements.
The stipulated orders and its many tasks are doable, he added, and CUC will approach them in a coordinated fashion, while understanding the delicate balance between finances and actions.
He said there is a lot of work to do in dealing with the stipulated orders, but CUC has a great engineering staff under the leadership of Capt. Robert J. Lorenz of the U.S. Public Health Service.
“It is no secret that CUC has big tasks ahead in infrastructure improvement, the backbone of our operations,” Fletcher said.
CUC has continued to upgrade old infrastructure, in areas such as pumping, water distribution and its wastewater collection and treatment processes, he added.
However, he said, ongoing improvements in those systems will require heavy capital investment for design and construction activities, such as the work now being performed at the wastewater treatment facilities.
“We currently have specialists working on providing those vital resources from potential EPA grants, Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Water Act funding,” he said.
According to Fletcher, CUC’s successes to-date are a combination of hard work by CUC staff, coupled with the partnerships it enjoy with the Water Task Force, the EPA, the Office of Insular Affairs and the U.S. Public Health Service.
In his first week of work, Fletcher said he was impressed with the team at CUC and is looking forward to working on the challenges ahead.
He said they will maintain the day to day business of running a public utility that provides vital services to customers.
“So, special attention is being paid to the utility’s financial management, by operating a cost effective business. CUC is committed to being a first-rate service provider and we are working hard on providing excellent customer service. We will be reviewing our business practices to see where we can provide better follow through, basically how we can streamline processes for better response,” he said.
Fletcher has served the last nine years as general manager of a water utility in the Puget Sound area of Washington state, with prior senior level management experience with special purpose utilities and cities in the northwest U.S.
While the work at CUC offers plenty of challenges, he said he cannot think of a nicer place to live and work.
“Personally, I enjoy bicycling, fishing, scuba diving and snorkeling — Saipan offers all those amenities in a world-class setting,” he said.
