FOUR visiting officials of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Region IX office have warned the CNMI of the consequences of not prioritizing safe drinking water. They also urged the immediate closure of the Puerto Rico dump which will be filled to capacity in September or October.
John McCarroll, EPA Pacific insular area program manager, yesterday said the Puerto Rico dump and the solid waste issue might be the “most critical or urgent environmental issues” on Saipan.
“But in terms of long-range issues, drinking water and overall wastewater and water pollution are really top priority issues,” McCarroll said.
McCarroll, EPA environmental engineer Ramon C. Mendoza, EPA’s CNMI program coordinator Patricia Young and Mike Lee are currently on Saipan for the federal agency’s semi-annual oversight review of the Division of Environmental Quality’s in-house programs.
The CNMI government, according to McCaroll, has made a “lot of progress” in addressing solid waste problems.
The EPA officials also announced the first ever visit to Saipan of a representative from its Criminal Enforcement Division which oversees environmental crimes.
Scott West, the division officer-in-charge, arrived on Saipan on Saturday to conduct “familiarization” tours of local environmental regulatory agencies and other facilities here.
McCarroll said EPA will work closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in prosecuting perpetrators of environmental crimes which include dumping of hazardous materials and falsification of documents relating to compliance with federal environmental laws.
