FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, contact:
David L. Manning, Special Principal Associate
Gershman, Brickner & Bratton, Inc.
Federal Receiver
(615) 830-1200
www.guamsolidwasteauthority.com
Federal Receiver Announces Official Hearing Held at the Ordot Dump
(Guam, March 26, 2016) – Federal Receiver Gershman, Brickner & Bratton, Inc. (GBB) today announced that the District Court of Guam will hold a Hearing that will officially conclude the Environmental Closure of the Ordot Dump on Monday, March 28, 2016 beginning at 9 A.M.
Description of the Event
The Hearing will be held at the Ordot Dump and include a description of how the facility was environmentally closed to protect the surrounding environment; and remarks by Chief Judge Tydingco-Gatewood, a representative from the Governor’s Office and the United States Department of Justice. After the Hearing, there will be a tour of the facility.
The general public is invited to attend. Official participants include: The Honorable Frances M. Tydingco-Gatewood, Chief Judge of the District Court of Guam; The Honorable Eddie Baza Calvo, Governor of Guam; The Honorable Judith T. Won Pat, Speaker of the 33rd Guam Legislature; The Honorable Elizabeth Barrett-Anderson, Attorney General of Guam; Robert D. Mullaney, United States Department of Justice; and The Honorable Jessy C. Gogue, Mayor, Ordot-Chalon Pogo. Invited Special Guests include members of the Guam Legislature; The Honorable Felix Camacho, former Governor; Rear Admiral Babette Bolivar, Commander Joint Region Marianas; Mayor Paul McDonald, President, Mayors Council of Guam, Mayors of Guam: Members of the Guam Solid Waste Authority Board; Glenn Leon Guerrero, Director of Guam Department of Public Works; Guam Solid Waste Authority Employees; Black Construction Corporation; Facility Contractor Paul Baron of GHD, Inc; and representatives of Brown and Caldwell.
The Ordot Dump was in operation, beginning in the 1940s until August 31, 2011, polluting the Lonfit River in violation of the Clean Water Act. To resolve this violation, the Government of Guam entered into a Consent Decree with the United States Environmental Protection Agency in 2004, agreeing to expeditiously work toward locating a site for a new environmentally compliant landfill, designing and building that facility, and properly closing the Ordot Dump. After four years of little activity, the District Court placed the Government of Guam’s Division of Solid Waste (now the Guam Solid Waste Authority) into Receivership and appointed GBB as Receiver.
Working in conjunction with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the Guam Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Ordot Mayor’s Office, and the people who live in the immediate vicinity of the Ordot Dump, the Receiver oversaw the design of an approved plan that met all of the legal and environmental requirements of the Federal and Territorial Governments.
A plan developed by the Receiver, USEPA and Guam EPA, provides for the legally required 30 year post-closure care of this facility. Such care includes monitoring groundwater, leachate collection and control, methane gas collection and control, and financial assurance that the money will be available to carry out these activities. Leachate, which had been leaking out of the Ordot Dump and polluting the Lonfit River, is now being captured and diverted to a waste water treatment facility for proper treatment. From January 30, 2015 to March 10, 2016, 8 million gallons of leachate has been directed away from the Lonfit River to the waste water treatment plant. The environmental closure of the Ordot Dump also captures harmful methane gas, a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. From September 14, 2015 through March 9, 2016, 12,539 metric tons of methane has been captured and properly disposed, rather than escaping into the atmosphere. This is the equivalent of the carbon produced by 2,640 passenger vehicles per year.
About Gershman, Brickner & Bratton, Inc., Receiver
In a Court Order dated March 17, 2008, U.S. District Court Judge Frances M. Tydingco-Gatewood appointed GBB to be Receiver with full responsibility for bringing the Guam Solid Waste Management Division into compliance with the 2004 Consent Decree for violation of the Clean Water Act. As Receiver, GBB’s objective is to work with Guam’s government, the Guam Solid Waste Authority, solid waste companies, the people of Guam, and the U.S. military to establish a long-term, financially viable and sustainable waste management system for Guam. For more information on the receivership, visit www.guamsolidwastereceiver.org.
GBB is a national solid waste management consulting firm, headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area, which works on solid waste collection, processing, recycling, and disposal issues. GBB assists in planning, procuring, and implementing sound, cost-effective facilities and services at the local, state, and national levels for both the public and private sectors. Since 1980, GBB has planned and developed a wide range of integrated waste management programs that use the latest technologies to improve efficiency, save money, enhance customer service, and protect the environment. For more information on the firm and its products and services, please visit www.gbbinc.com or call 1-703-573-5800.
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