by Sabrina Salas Matanane

Guam - A Superior Court of Guam judge might decide whether to scrap the action the Guam Environmental Protection Agency Board took against Joseph Taitano during its most recent meeting in December. Taitano's attorney Curtis Van De Veld is seeking a writ of mandate from the court ordering that the proceedings be null and void because he argues GEPA failed to give his client proper notice of its meeting. As we reported more than a decade ago Taitano was caught running a massive illegal dump operation on his property in Yigo. He has not paid a single penny in penalties or fines. The Guam EPA board in December proposed a corrective action plan that orders Taitano to install two groundwater monitoring wells, sample the wells semi–annually, install chain link fencing around the perimeter of the quarry where he was dumping debris, and submit an adjusted penalty of 312–thousand dollars. The Guam EPA board is scheduled to meet tomorrow at 5pm.