GRRP holding town hall meeting on landfill app
Island residents will have the opportunity to voice their concerns with the project next week as the Guam EPA decides whether to issue a final permit to the company.
By KUAM NewsGuam - A private company is still pursuing efforts to build a private landfill in Atantano, Santa Rita. Island residents will have the opportunity to voice their concerns with the project next week as the Guam Environmental Protection Agency decides whether to issue a final permit to the company.
Guam Resource Recovery Partners has spent nearly a decade trying to build a landfill on Chamorro Land Trust Commission property. A land license agreement was signed on the last day of the Gutierrez Administration, binding the government to leasing the land to GRRP for a period of up to 20 years.
Joe Borj in 2003 as CLTC director, told KUAM News, "Basically what you're saying is true. We have an agreement to license land to them. If they get the necessary permits for a landfill they will open a landfill and at the end of the 20 years the property would be taken by the CLTC. And yes, we could conceivably get CLTC, owners of a landfill, after 20 years," he said.
And while there's been plenty of opposition from residents in the south, like Tina Diras, who are vehemently opposed to a landfill in their backyard. She proclaimed, "You're stepping on the little people that are trying to better themselves. I'm so hurt and so upset that you guys went ahead and did this and didn't even take into consideration that this is Chamorro Land Trust Commission property. It was developed proposed to help the indigenous people for residential for agricultural, not commercial, and you sidestepped us."
GRRP, however, contends it will be a good neighbor and has been diligent in making monthly payments, pursuant to the lease, to the Commission. Land Management director Monte Mafnas said, "They are paying $4,400 a month and I have submitted a letter to them or a request to make sure that their payments are up to date, real estate taxes are up to date. And if and when they receive a landfill permit from the EPA, they have to pay an additional $70,000."
According to news files, the land license agreement originally stated that GRRP was to pay $25,000 a month to lease the CLTC land, but after an appraisal was conducted, that amount was reduced to $4,400 a month. Mafnas doesn't expect that amount to change since the lease is a done deal. As the Guam EPA proceeds with the rules and regulations for those applying for a landfill permit, Mafnas encourages residents to voice their support or opposition with the plans.
A town hall meeting will be held for Santa Rita residents next Tuesday, November 15 at the village community center. "It's only right that the residents present and air their concerns and a litany of why they oppose it or support it," Mafnas stated. "If I was a resident there, I would definitely want to be heard."
The last day for the public to submit comments is next Friday, November 18.