by Heather Hauswirth

Guam - How to get the islandwide sweep up and running again was the focus of a closed-door meeting held last night between DPW, the Guam EPA, the GSA and the Governor's Office. According to vice-president of the Mayor's Council Robert Hoffman, the governor's deputy chief of staff Shawn Gumatatao paid him a visit in person to show how committed Adelup is to resolving this matter once and for all.

"He explained what went on and all these people were present and we were very pleased that his response was that the governors committed to working this out and wants to work with the mayors to solve this problem because it is a problem," said Hoffman.

At the crux of the issue is a notice of violation that was issued to Bali Steel by the Guam EPA on March 26, which GSA Chief Procurement Officer Claudia Acfalle says Bali Steel must address in 60 days before the vendor can move forward. What was resolved however is that Guam EPA Administrator Lorilee Crisostomo's citation of an attorney general's opinion about this matter never in fact existed and there was no problem with Bali Steel's procurement with DPW and the mayors.

The Guam EPA's role moving forward is strictly administrational. There is now talk from the AG's office that DPW would like funds from the Recycling Revolving Fund to be lent to their department so they can cleanup their own junk and white goods, but Hoffman says he and the mayors would not support using the money from the Fund for anything other than the Abandoned Vehicle Program.