PACIFIC ISLANDS REPORT

Pacific Islands Development Program/East-West Center
With Support From Center for Pacific Islands Studies/University of Hawai‘i

By Guam Senator Judi Guthertz

SAIPAN, CNMI (Marianas Variety, Dec. 13) – If we continue down the path we are taking, we will never solve Guam’s solid waste problem because the issue is stuck firmly between the federal government and those who put politics ahead of what is best for our island. It sometimes feels like we are in the "Twilight Zone" because there is just no way to logically explain what is going on.

At the core of the issue is the federal consent decree based on a violation of the Clean Water Act.

The consent decree rightfully demands that the environmental disaster known as the Ordot Dump be closed as quickly as possible because it leaches poisons into the Lonfit River.

I think everyone knows that the Ordot Dump was inherited by Government of Guam from the U.S. military. The dump was established way back in the days after World War II. It’s a mystery what kinds of chemicals, military equipment and other wartime detritus are at the bottom of the dump’s pile of garbage, and it has needed to be closed for many, many years.

It’s only logical that we open a new landfill and close the Ordot Dump. Now, here’s where things start slipping into the "Twilight Zone."

The federal government created the Ordot Dump; the same federal government is demanding that Ordot be closed as quickly as possible; the same federal government is blocking an attempt by a private company that is trying to open a landfill months, and possibly years, before any Government of Guam landfill can be opened so that Ordot can be closed.

Does that make sense to you? The answer is an emphatic "NO!" unless you’re one of those who put politics ahead of what is best for our island. If you’re in that latter group, then you’re jumping with joy, because doing the political thing is more important to them than doing the right thing and protecting our water.

Wait, you say, doesn’t closing Ordot protect our water? Yes, at Lonfit. But opening a landfill at Dandan can affect the water at the Inarajan watershed, which the Guam Waterworks Authority has identified as a future source of fresh water.

At this point, you might ask why the feds and Guam Environmental Protection Agency approved a site for a landfill that was identified for future water development. Can you say "Twilight Zone?"

Dandan is where those with a political agenda want the landfill to be located because well, Dandan is the site the feds have anointed as the only location for the landfill, and it’s the only one that they will consider, no matter what the cost might be, and no matter how long it takes.

Does that make sense to you? The answer is an emphatic "NO!" unless you’re one of the feds who know that we will need to have Guam Waterworks Authority increase their output of fresh water by 25 percent for the military buildup.

Ask the feds how they can make sense of this word problem:

Guam needs 25 percent more fresh water in the immediate future, and the feds want us to build a landfill over Guam Waterworks Authority’s identified freshwater development site. Since all landfill liners will eventually leak, how long will it be before the water at Dandan (and possibly Ugum) is unfit for human consumption? For extra credit, determine how much it will cost Guam to build expensive desalination plants because we stupidly built a landfill over a major source of fresh water.

We can have a landfill, recycling, and modern technology in one Christmas gift package. But to get that gift for our people, we have to get out of the "Twilight Zone."

Dr. Judi Guthertz studied in the Philippines but has lived on Guam all her life. She is a retired professor and dean of the University of Guam’s Business and Public Administration. She now serves as democratic Senator representing Mangilao in Guam.

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