THE Rota resident director of the Department of Public Works should collect tipping fees at the island’s landfill and transfer station to fund its operation, DPW Secretary Ray M. Yumul said.
DPW Rota Resident Director George A. Atalig has asked Yumul for money to buy diesel fuel for the maintenance and operation of the landfill on the island.
In a letter two weeks ago, Atalig requested Yumul to tap the Solid Waste Management Revolving Fund or SWMRF to help Rota buy fuel, citing difficulties in maintaining the island’s dump without fuel.
In his reply, Yumul said he has learned that Rota has not deposited tipping fee collections into the solid waste revolving fund from 2022 to present. He said the record showed that no tipping fees were being collected on Rota.
He reminded Atalig that Public Law 23-9 or the Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriation Act “zeroed funding for operations for this department and more critically, the suspension of earmarked funding from excise taxes to the SWMRF has left the sub-accounts without any source of funding except for the active collection of tipping fees.”
“Your situation is not unique as the Solid Waste Division (Saipan) now relies on tipping fees collected from commercial and residential haulers of trash and other wastes brought to the landfill and transfer station to pay for its operational needs,” Yumul said.
“I am sympathetic to your needs and will be providing your office a limited amount of funds for the acquisition of the diesel fuel in order to sustain operations of the Rota dump. However, please note that you will receive a notice from this office to immediately implement the collection of tipping fees to support your operation as provided for by the law,” Yumul said.
Ray Yumul
