Guam News - Guam News
Guam - At the request of Federal receiver GBB, District Court Judge Francis Tydingco-Gatewood has ordered Guam EPA to investigate a number of dump sites within a 3 mile radius of the Ordot Dump.
In a Special Report to the Court filed Thursday, the receiver cites "several dump sites" near the Ordot Dump, and one very large one. The exact number is not stated.
Its not clear whether any of these sites are properly permitted, but the receiver notes that none of them are lined and therefore a source of leachate, "all dump sites produce leachate," states the receiver's report and leachate is "one of the principal causes of pollution from the Ordot Dump and one of the primary reasons for the Consent Decree."
Read Federal Receiver GBB's request for order
In its request for an inspection of these sites, GBB notes that the "identification of all sources of leachate and other groundwater contamination is an important step" in the final closure of the Ordot dump which is slated to close August 31.
And the leachate from these other, unlined dumps, are a "potential problem for accurately understanding and mitigating the pollution coming from the Ordot Dump itself " and "potentially complicates the process for final closure of the Ordot Dump."
Read the District Court's Order
GBB requested, and the Judge agreed in an order issued Friday, to require Guam EPA to investigate all dump sites within a 3 mile radius of the Ordot Dump to determine:
1. The compliance of these dump sites with applicable Guam and federal laws and regulations;
2. The size and approximate leachate potential for each such dump site;
3. The party responsible for the site;
4. The potential of the dump site to complicate the closure of the Ordot Dump; and
5. The steps recommended or taken by GEPA to eliminate these dump sites as a source of contamination of the environment in the vicinity of the Ordot Dump.
