by Ken Quintanilla

Guam - In the District Court of Guam today, the Guam Waterworks Authority and the feds duked it out over an amended stipulated order. The main area of contention: timelines to complete waste water system improvements in the southern part of Guam.

Consolidated Commission on Utilities chairperson Simon Sanchez says GWA completely agrees the southern waste water systems needs an overhaul. "We just think it's going to take a little more time than Judge Manibusan is proposing," he said.

It was in July District Court of Guam Magistrates Judge Joaquin Manibusan issued a report recommending a timeline for the completion of improvements to GWA's Southern Waste Water Treatment Plant be finished in seven years. He specifically recommended improvements to the Agat-Santa Rita wastewater system be completed by December 31, 2016; Baza Gardens by December 31, 2017; and Umatac-Merizo by December 31, 2018. The judge's timelines, you could say, met GWA and USEPA halfway.

GWA estimated it should be done with all three projects by the year 2021, while USEPA asked the court to impose a drop dead deadline of 2016 to fix everything. "The bottom line," said Sanchez, "is we're the closest we've ever been to a comprehensive agreement with EPA on what has to be done to bring GWA in full compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act. And that's something that we all want. This is our home, we got to protect these oceans, we got to protect that aquifer, it's going to be more expensive for water and waste water in the coming decade, but it's the price we have to pay to protect our paradise."

In federal court today, U.S. Attorney Robert Mulaney criticized GWA for not moving forward with compliance with the stipulated order and was in opposition to any more delays. Mulaney had mentioned that GWA had the funds needed to complete the job but simply didn't have the effort to do so. "His representation that we have the money is wrong and we don't agree with them," Sanchez continued. "It doesn't matter what's happened - what really matters to us is what we're going to do moving forward to finally fix this problem."

In order to complete the projects under the stipulated order GWA and the CCU are estimating water bills to double over the next decade to pay for the $200-$400 million that will be borrowed to come into compliance. "So the people of Guam are going to be faced with a very difficult challenge of affording water and waste water services, but by the end of the decade we'll have a system that will fully be compliant, our oceans will be protected, our water will be protected. And I think that's w hat the people of Guam ultimately want and to be able to afford it," he said.

District Court of Guam Chief Judge Frances Tydingco Gatewood took the matter under advisement with an opinion expected shortly.