New Layon Landfill now open

FRIDAY, 02 SEPTEMBER 2011 01:39 BY ZITA Y. TAITANO | VARIETY NEWS STAFF

TWO container trucks carrying trash became the first vehicles to make use of the new Layon Landfill yesterday morning following its official opening.

Prior to a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the front gate, District Court Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood commented on the site, stressing it’s not a dump, but a landfill. She also noted the years it took for the new landfill to become a reality.

“This is really a long road, a challenging road to get to the landfill,” said Gatewood. “It was with a heavy heart that I appointed a federal receiver.”

She is aware of the concerns of residents in Malojloj, especially Inarajan Mayor Franklin Taitague, who didn’t want a landfill in his village.

Department of Justice Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Mullaney called the new landfill a world-class facility and said Guam can be an example for other communities.

Also speaking was Harvey Gershman, president of Gershman, Brickner & Bratton (GBB), who admitted they saw challenges in the system, but since taking over the Solid Waste Management Division of the Department of Public Works, have been able to implement change for the better.

“What we have accomplished in this receivership is everyone’s success, not just our success,” said Gershman. “It’s a success for the island’s future – an environmental succession.”

Lt. Governor Ray Tenorio also praised the new facility.

“It’s a far cry from Ordot Dump. Ordot Dump was an environmental disaster. Here there’s protection to ensure our water doesn’t get contaminated,” he said.

A little sad

Meanwhile, Taitague admits that up until an hour before the ceremony yesterday, he was still in a state of sadness.

“My emotions are with the people of Inarajan. I still feel the site should not have been Layon, but the laws have made it clear that it’s beyond the control of the residents,” Taitague said.

Inarajan resident Manny D. Afaisen, 79, is one of those residents concerned about the site. He took a tour of the facility and looked at where the trash would be disposed.

“It’s a good idea. The only problem is there is a lot of water here,” he said of the location, expressing his concern about possible pollution of the area.

The Inarajan resident, however, said he was assured by many people, especially Judge Gatewood, that safeguards are in place.

“My visit and tour of the place kind of changed my perception of the facility; and I saw that it’s going to be run properly,” he said.

Concern

However, there are concerns about the road leading to the site and the trucks transporting waste.

“That concern was expressed during our public hearings because of the spill from the trash going on to the road and the stench from the trucks,” Taitague said.

The mayor added he was given the impression during a recent hearing that the highway will be fixed to accommodate the trucks coming to and from the site.

“They are working on the bridges. As far as the highway, that’s not a reality yet,” he said, adding he was informed by GBB it’s just a matter of the Department of Public Works fixing the rights of way for the trucks.

The mayor noted Route 4 will be used for a majority of the transfer of trash, which includes the snake-like road and hills of the As-Alonso area between Talofofo Bay and the entrance into Malojloj proper.

The matter was brought up during a status hearing at District Court on Wednesday. In GBB’s report to Gatewood, the receiver noted the problems they encountered during a couple of dry runs, including the narrow roads which made it difficult for the trucks to navigate.

It seems the work is already happening along that particular street. DPW crews were already seen clearing vegetation and cutting down trees that made it difficult for trucks to go through.

GBB’s report also stressed that until a permanent solution is made, they are going to use “pilot vehicles” to escort the trucks. These vehicles will be used to warn motorists of an oncoming trash truck.

Residents not giving up on landfill issue

Residents not giving up on landfill issue

Posted: Nov 29, 2009 9:46 PM PST
by Mindy Aguon

It remains to be seen what impact, of any, a five-year-old civil suit in the Superior Court will have on the Ordot consent decree. The Attorney General's Office submitted a report to the District Court chief judge informing her of efforts in Guam's trial court to put an immediate stop to construction efforts at the new Layon landfill.

A handful of residents, led by former Ordot-Chalan Pago mayor Rossana San Miguel, aren't giving up their efforts to have the government put a landfill at Guatali or Mala'a instead of at Layon. It was something the Attorney General's Office was concerned about two years ago.

"If the Supreme Court should decide that Judge [Katherine] Maraman made a mistake and reverses (her decision) it what that would mean is that the law that said Guatali and Mala'a had to be considered as the landfill was applicable to the governor's action. If he had no authority to enter into the consent decree, the consent decree is null and void," said Alberto Tolentino in July 2007.

And apparently the issue is still a concern as Assistant Attorney General Phil Isaac filed a report with the District Court detailing the latest efforts in a taxpayer lawsuit, led by San Miguel seeking a temporary restraining order for the Layon landfill.

She said, "I'm not asking them to completely stop the project. I'm just asking to really look at it and like I said in the meantime by law there's a place and a company that can take care of it. So it's really up and you know the bottom line it's really up to our lawmakers how they want to handle this."

San Miguel, Jose Chargulaf, Angelo Gombar, Anthony Duenas Leon Guerrero, Lawrence Portela, Tony Quinata, Franklin Taitague and Jose Terlaje have been asking the Superior Court to force the Government of Guam to stop efforts to put a landfill anywhere other than where a public law enacted back in 1997 states it should be. The taxpayer lawsuit filed back in 2004, alleges the government broke the law by failing to work with Guatali and Mala'a as potential sites for the island's next landfill.

"The law says it's Guatali," said San Miguel. "I pushed that from the very beginning and I said it again. I keep saying it time and time again. Why are you inducing all the millions of dollars on the people of Guam, the taxpayers to pay for this project when they shouldn't even have to be the one to do it?"

She continued, "Guatali is in the books. It's local law. This new landfill where it's supposed to be, is not in the books and funding for this new landfill has never been there it's money that is now made that the Government of Guam now has to pay and that's the bottom line."

A hearing on San Miguel's motion for a TRO is scheduled for January 14. Federal receiver Gershman, Bricker & Bratton meanwhile says they are aware of the report filed with the court as well as the taxpayers' litigation. Receiver representative David Manning says, as the receiver it is not their role to ask the court to take any action on a purely legal question.

However he says they are confident that all matters with respect to the consent decree and the construction of the new landfill at Layon have been proper and are being handled in strict compliance with all applicable legal requirements.

Landfill project finally gets permit

Landfill project finally gets permit

Wednesday, 25 November 2009 01:44
by Therese Hart | Variety News Staff

FEDERAL receiver Gershman, Brickner & Bratton yesterday announced that the Guam Environmental Protection Agency has issued a permit for the Layon landfill project.

The permit, issued on Nov. 23, allows all activities related to the construction of the landfill to move forward in compliance with the consent decree.

In addition, GEPA issued the air pollution control permit at the same time.

The issuance of these permits is a major milestone in the 23-year-long process of closing the Ordot Dump and building an environmentally compliant waste disposal facility for the island's municipal solid waste.

“The design of the new landfill and the plans for operating it underwent a rigorous review by the Guam Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Environmental Protection Agency, passing all of the requirements to assure that Guam's environment is protected,” GBB representative David L. Manning.

“This is the last major step in the approval process for the Layon Landfill and clears the way for a final closure of the Ordot Dump and an end to the environmental damage it has inflicted on Guam for many years,” Manning added.

Construction contracts have been awarded to various local companies. Core Tech International was awarded the contract for the construction of the access road and utilities.

Black Construction Corporation gets the contract for the landfill entrance facilities and landfill systems for Cells 1 & 2.

Construction is anticipated to commence soon and take about 500 days. Preconstruction earthwork has already been underway since February 2009 under a contract awarded to Maeda Pacific Corporation and is nearing completion.

There are 611 days of airspace remaining at the Ordot Dump.

Federal Receiver in Possible Violation at Layon

Federal receiver in possible violation
Tuesday, 30 June 2009
by Therese Hart
Marianas Variety News

THE Guam Environmental Protection Agency is conducting an investigation into the earthwork project at the Layon landfill site, after receiving aerial photos of the landscape, clearly showing some kind of drainage system or culvert where water is being diverted to.

Conchita Taitano, administrator of the Air and Land division, said yesterday that her administrator, Lorilee Crisostomo, passed on a letter sent by Sen. Rory Respicio addressing his concerns regarding recent activities at the landfill site.

Taitano said yesterday that she was very concerned and has contacted GEPA’s water division to investigate. She also e-mailed federal receiver, Gershman, Brickner & Bratton for a response and is awaiting word from the company representative, Chris Lund.

Variety asked Taitano, who had reviewed the photos, if she could tell by the photos whether the apparent water was just rain run-off settling into the new pond or if the groundwater had been reached during the earthmoving process and was now filling the depression.

The administrator of the Air and Land division at GEPA also stated that she could not comment, by “just looking at a photo,” but did say that GEPA is delving into the matter.

“Is that rain water or is that water that was dug up and is filling? I don’t know the answer at this point in time. The administrator gave me the letter last week. I scanned it. I emailed the letter to our water division to investigate this. I also emailed GBB to explain this,” a clearly concerned Taitano told Variety.

The aerial photos clearly show two huge pipes attached to an apparatus of some sort, as well as four excavators.

“Particularly odd is the need for excavators,” said Senator Respicio. The senator believes that such equipment is not required for the type of earthworks the federal receiver should be doing at the site at this point in time.

“There are many questions raised by this photograph,” he said. Taitano would seem to agree.

“It’s obvious in the photos that there are pipes down there. The question needs to be asked--is water being drained out of there? And where is the water coming from? Is the water coming down from higher ground or did someone hit the groundwater? I don’t know at this time,” said Taitano.

TG Engineers is clearing the earth for the construction of Cells 1 and 2 of the new landfill. The contractor is behind schedule, but that is not unusual during the early stages of such work, according to a report filed with the court by the federal receiver.

Speaker Judi Won Pat said that she had spoken to Taitano as well to express her concern about what is taking place in Inarajan.

“It was my understanding that as the earthwork is being done, there would be no contact with the groundwater. I don’t know what’s going on down there, but the concerns are valid and we must get clarification from the federal receiver about what’s happening,” said Won Pat.

Won Pat reiterated her feelings about groundwater that could possibly be used for residents in the south being contaminated because of the new landfill development.

“I don’t want to jump the gun, but every effort must be taken to address all these concerns. I await the response from Guam EPA,” said the speaker.

Respicio said that Guam EPA has the responsibility to ensure that the companies that have received permits perform only those functions that their permits allow.

The aerial photographs were attributed to local photographer Steve Hardy; however, Respicio said he did not commission the flight or engage the photographer. It is still unclear why the photos were taken in the first place.

Landfill Updates

A Look at Layon

A Look at Layon
By John Davis
Published Dec 16, 2008
KUAM News

A group of local contractors with their eye on the prize for winning the bid for beginning stages of construction to be done at Layon, Inarajan got their potential moneys worth today by embarking on a three-mile hike through the area. TG Engineers president Tor Gudmundsen gave contractors an outline of where the road, landfill cells and earthwork will be done.

"We hiked over to this corner, the southwest corner of Cell 1, so that they could see the full site of the area that would be worked on for cells 1 and 2 and again this operation road alignment," explained Gudmundsen. He demonstrated how just outside of Cell 1 will lie Pond 3A, a storm drainage basin, that will act as a monitoring point and catch drainage and runoff, which will assist in eliminating further environmental impacts to the area.

Gudmundsen says as the landfill expands based on future needs, other basins will be built around future cells. "We've studied how the rainfall runoff discharges from the site now in it's natural condition," he continued, "and we want it to runoff and discharge in a very similar fashion as the site is developed so that we don't really change the discharge of storm water around the site perimeter."

Speaking of the need for future expansion, Layon will be able to hold more than just a pair of cells for solid waste disposal. The site actually provides for 11 cells to be constructed over the landfills projected 41-year lifespan.

But with no commitment from the federal government as to whether it will be a customer of GovGuam, Gudmundsen says although there's plenty of space at Layon for Uncle Sam's trash, the capacity plan might have to undergo some adjustments. "The sizing is based on information from 2004 and 2005 and that was before the military buildup was announced and we worked out a 41 years site capacity plan so that's subject to change now as the trash from the buildup and the Air Force and others might be also coming here," he told KUAM News.

Although we overheard certain contractors stating they might have some trouble submitting bids for the project within a short amount of time, those interested have until January 8 to submit their proposals.

Meanwhile, another field trip for interested bidders will be conducted next week.

Court Has No Jurisdiction Over Layon Property

Layon property owners say district court has no jurisdiction
Tuesday, 11 November 2008 02:41
by Therese Hart
Variety News Staff

ATTORNEYS representing Layon property owners have filed a motion to dismiss the declaratory judgment and lift the temporary stay that U.S. District Court Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood issued Oct. 22 during a quarterly status hearing on the closure of the Ordot Dump and construction of the new landfill in Layon, Inarajan. Earlier, receiver Gershman, Brickner & Bratton had told the court of its concern about whether the government had title to the Layon site, which is where the new landfill will be built.

The court converted the receiver's oral statement into a motion for declaratory judgment under the Declaratory Judgment Act and issued an order staying any action by the Superior Court of Guam in the eminent domain proceeding pending the District Court's determination of whether the government of Guam has acquired legal title to the Layon site, according to court documents filed by Atty. Lee T. Camacho for Atty. Anita Arriola.

Arriola's lawfirm --- Arriola, Cowan & Arriola --- represents Layon property owners Oxford Properties & Finance Ltd., Joaquin C. Arriola and Douglas F. Cushnie.

Arriola's filing states that the District Court lacks jurisdiction to interpret local law governing eminent domain and to determine whether GovGuam has complied with all statutory requirements.

Furthermore, the filing states that without an independent basis for subject matter jurisdiction, the declaratory judgment act standing alone does not grant the court jurisdiction to interpret Guam law governing the exercise of eminent domain.

No federal questions
Arriola's filing also states that the eminent domain case raises no federal questions. Without original jurisdiction over the claims raised in the eminent domain case, the court is prohibited from removing the case from Superior Court to District Court.

"Guam law provides that the Superior Court of Guam has original jurisdiction of eminent domain proceedings initiated by the Government of Guam concerning Guam real properties…. the Superior Court of Guam shall have jurisdiction over all actions for condemnation of private property for public use by the government of Guam."

The filing states that district courts shall have original jurisdiction of all civil actions arising under the Constitution, law, or treaties of the United States and that GovGuam filed the eminent domain action in the Superior Court of Guam pursuant to its authority to do so under Guam law.

The taking of the Dandan property is not a federal taking and is therefore not based upon the taking clause of the U.S. Constitution or/and U.S. laws.

Whether or not GovGuam has complied with the stringent statutory requirements under Guam's eminent domain law is a matter of purely local law, according to Arriola's filing, and the District Court should abstain from ruling on issues of local law that are currently pending before the Superior Court of Guam.

Owners
Oxford Properties & Finance holds a 50 percent undivided interest in all property originally designated as Lot B, Dandan, Inarajan.

Arriola owns five percent interest in the undivided one-half interest in Lot B owned by Calvo's Insurance Underwriters, Inc. (or 2.5 percent interest of the whole Lot B). After conveyance of the 5 percent interest to Arriola, Cushnie and Mitchell A. Stevens, the interest was further sold so that the current holders of the five percent are: Arriola with two-sixths interest; Cushnie at three-sixths interest; and Young Chull Kim at one-sixth interests. Many of the landowners acquired their interests in 1979, according to court documents.

Cunliffe
Atty. Randall Cunliffe of Cunliffe & Cook, filed a memorandum of points and authorities in support of the motion to dismiss. Cunliffe represents Calvo's Insurance Undewriters, Inc.; Valencia Investments Corporation; Henry Sy; Jones & Guerrero Company, Inc.; Alfred C. and Diane Z. Ysrael; and Lee M. and Joan S. Holmes.

Cunliffe's filing in District Court challenges Tydingco-Gatewood's issuance of a declaratory judgment, stating that 28 USC§2201 authorizes the "courts of the United States" upon the filing of an appropriate pleading, to declare the rights and other legal relations of any other interested parties seeking such declaration on cases of actual controversy within its jurisdiction."

According to Cunliffe's filing, "28 USC§1330 et. Seq., does not establish that the District Courts have jurisdiction over a condemnation proceeding between a state or territory and land within a state or territory. Therefore, this matter should be dismissed."

Cunliffe's filing also states that he, nor his clients, were not served by the Superior Court with any documents in the action and that his clients are not parties to the action.

Cunliffe also stated in his filing that he was concerned about the court's appearance of partiality.