by Sabrina Salas Matanane

Guam - Guam Resource Recovery Partners' team in Honolulu, Hawaii is reviewing the Guam Environmental Protection Agency's reasons for denying its permit application for a sanitary landfill to be built in Atantano, Santa Rita or Guatali. Last week Guam EPA determined the company's application did not meet all of the requirements of law and the Guam Solid Waste Rules and Regulations.

Guam EPA administrator Eric Palacios specifically cited the lack of financial assurance, post-closure care and management of leachate.

GRRP representative Dave Sablan said, "Why should we submit another application? That's just being nice and saying, 'You didn't get an approval, so go ahead and submit.'"

He added, "As far as these issues of concerns, I think they are not deal breakers as I review them, it can be resolved and that should have been told to us prior to the public comment period."

One of the concerns the Guam EPA had was the fact that it would be impossible for GRRP to fulfill the legally-required post-closure requirements of 30 years since GRRP's lease with the Chamorro Land Trust Commission is only for 25 years. "When it does go back to the Chamorro Land Trust and if it does go back because we have thoughts on how we can continue beyond the Chamorro Land Trust lease agreement and I would imagine because the land is so barren and almost unusable that it makes a lot of sense for CLT to work with us to extend that beyond that period in the current lease agreement," he said.

Sablan says GRRP hopes by the end of the week they'll have a new strategy on what their next step will be.