by Sabrina Salas Matanane

Guam - Guam Resource Recovery Partners is intent on getting their waste-to-energy facility up and running - even if it's not going to be at Guatali. Matter of fact they've presented a plan to the Calvo Administration and the Legislature to take over the Layon landfill.

According to GRRP's Dave Sablan, his company would include the cost of Layon - roughly $102 million - with the cost for their proposed waste-to-energy facility when they sell it on the New York bond market. "It won't be the Government of Guam selling it, it will be GRRP selling it on basically a private activity bond approach," he explained. "That means that the bond buyers would have triple tax exemption, but basically it's a private project that would have a public benefit here in Guam."

GRRP would then pay back the $102 million to GovGuam, use Layon to deposit the ash from the waste-to-energy facility, and the solid waste that otherwise would have gone to Layon would instead go to GRRP's proposed landfill at Guatali in Santa Rita. He said, "Because if that landfill down at Layon receives solid waste 50- 60 to 100 years from now four generations from now, something happens to that liner. It's very probable that the water table underneath that would be contaminated but if we deposit ash, which is inert, we don't have any worries about that because ash will not harm the water"

GRRP however is still in the process of receiving their final permit which they hope to get by July and complete the landfill at Guatali by May next year.

As for the waste-to-energy facility, that won't be completed for another two to three years after which GRRP start depositing ash at Layon. Here's the catch: the Ordot Dump - by court order - must close in 104 days. According to Sablan, he's hoping Guam's leaders will be on board with their concept, saying, "Hopefully our government leaders can present a unified position and a proper plan before the district court judge hopefully by July, which is the next hearing date and I do hope the judge will see the merit of this plan and at that point we can pretty much wind down the work of the receiver and GRRP can take over."

Or the judge can trash the idea.