Environmental officials, escorted by U.S. Marshals, inspected an alleged dump at Lujan Towing & Auto Parts shop in Toto in hopes of putting a stop to possible pollutants contaminating Guam's groundwater.
It's not the first time the company is being investigated for collecting debris that could be harming the island's environment.
Roland Gutierrez, a Guam Environmental Protection Agency environmental health inspector, said during yesterday's inspection, officials measured the length, width and height of the alleged dump to try to determine "the amount of leachate that may come out of it."
Gutierrez declined to provide details regarding the investigation, saying a full report will be provided to Guam EPA when the investigation is completed, possibly next week Wednesday.
Ivan Quinata, Guam EPA administrator, said the company doesn't have the permits to operate "what appears to be a dump."
"That's an automatic citation for that alone," he said, noting that additional citations may be made following the investigation.
Gutierrez said a report of the full investigation should be completed by Wednesday.
Property owners have declined to comment. Pacific Daily News has made numerous calls, left phone messages and sent an email message to Ray Lujan with the company, but has yet to receive a response. Lujan is listed as the manager for Lujan's Salvage Yard and Towing Services in the document.
Guam Environmental Protection Agency is investigating dumps within a three-mile radius of the Ordot dump and the island's shoreline. The U.S. District Court ordered the investigation as part of efforts to close the Ordot dump, which has been cited for decades as an environmental hazard.
Gutierrez said authorities shut down an illegal dump at the same location in 2005. That investigation and subsequent closure of the dump was prompted by a fire at the dump site.
The environmental health inspector said as far as he could recall yesterday, there were no fines levied on the towing and spare parts company.
"What they did was they complied with the notice of violation and cleaned up so they weren't fined," Gutierrez said.
He couldn't say whether a second violation, if found, would result in stiffer penalties.
Gutierrez did say he expects to return to the site to ensure that business owners are removing the debris from the site and sending the debris to the appropriate facilities.
According to Guam EPA's report filed with U.S. District Court yesterday, environmental officials have "conducted a visual inspection of each road and/or street" in Asan, Maina, Nimitz Hill, Agana Heights, Hag?t?a and Sinajana, "and no dumpsites were found."
Ordot dump is expected to close Aug. 31. Even after the closure, "much work remains to be done to mitigate and properly manage the pollution that will be produced for many years into the future," the court documents state.
The government of Guam agreed to close the Ordot dump and open the Layon Landfill as part of a consent decree stemming from a U.S. EPA lawsuit alleging the Ordot dump was polluting the island's underground water source and nearby streams and rivers.
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It's not the first time the company is being investigated for collecting debris that could be harming the island's environment.
Roland Gutierrez, a Guam Environmental Protection Agency environmental health inspector, said during yesterday's inspection, officials measured the length, width and height of the alleged dump to try to determine "the amount of leachate that may come out of it."
Gutierrez declined to provide details regarding the investigation, saying a full report will be provided to Guam EPA when the investigation is completed, possibly next week Wednesday.
Ivan Quinata, Guam EPA administrator, said the company doesn't have the permits to operate "what appears to be a dump."
"That's an automatic citation for that alone," he said, noting that additional citations may be made following the investigation.
Gutierrez said a report of the full investigation should be completed by Wednesday.
Property owners have declined to comment. Pacific Daily News has made numerous calls, left phone messages and sent an email message to Ray Lujan with the company, but has yet to receive a response. Lujan is listed as the manager for Lujan's Salvage Yard and Towing Services in the document.
Guam Environmental Protection Agency is investigating dumps within a three-mile radius of the Ordot dump and the island's shoreline. The U.S. District Court ordered the investigation as part of efforts to close the Ordot dump, which has been cited for decades as an environmental hazard.
Gutierrez said authorities shut down an illegal dump at the same location in 2005. That investigation and subsequent closure of the dump was prompted by a fire at the dump site.
The environmental health inspector said as far as he could recall yesterday, there were no fines levied on the towing and spare parts company.
"What they did was they complied with the notice of violation and cleaned up so they weren't fined," Gutierrez said.
He couldn't say whether a second violation, if found, would result in stiffer penalties.
Gutierrez did say he expects to return to the site to ensure that business owners are removing the debris from the site and sending the debris to the appropriate facilities.
According to Guam EPA's report filed with U.S. District Court yesterday, environmental officials have "conducted a visual inspection of each road and/or street" in Asan, Maina, Nimitz Hill, Agana Heights, Hag?t?a and Sinajana, "and no dumpsites were found."
Ordot dump is expected to close Aug. 31. Even after the closure, "much work remains to be done to mitigate and properly manage the pollution that will be produced for many years into the future," the court documents state.
The government of Guam agreed to close the Ordot dump and open the Layon Landfill as part of a consent decree stemming from a U.S. EPA lawsuit alleging the Ordot dump was polluting the island's underground water source and nearby streams and rivers.
View the original article here
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