(08/31/11) Released jointly by the U.S. EPA and…
(08/31/11) Released jointly by the
U.S. EPA and U.S. DOJ
SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Justice
announced today that the Ordot Dump will stop accepting waste and
work will begin to permanently close the dump.
It is expected to take at least two
years to finish the work to permanently close the Ordot Dump, which
includes installing a cap and constructing stormwater, leachate and
landfill gas controls. Meanwhile, interim measures will be put in
place immediately to protect the public health and the environment
until permanent closure is complete. The Ordot Dump has had a long
history of illegal discharges into the Lonfit River, garbage fires,
and public complaints about odors, rats, and
mosquitoes.
“Today marks the beginning of the
end for the Ordot Dump. This source of garbage fires, noxious odors
and health risks is finally closing for good,” said Jared
Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific
Southwest. “EPA, Guam EPA and the Receiver will be working
together to ensure a safe closure that protects the environment and
community of Ordot Chalan-Pago.”
The new Layon landfill will open and
begin accepting waste on September 1. The construction of the Layon
landfill and the closure of the Ordot Dump are requirements of a
2004 federal Consent Decree between the United States and the
Government of Guam. In 2008, in order to achieve compliance with
the Consent Decree, the U.S. District Court of Guam appointed
Gershman, Brickner & Bratton, Inc. as the Receiver of the Solid
Waste Management Division of the Guam Department of Public
Works.
“Today we join the people of Guam
in applauding the long-anticipated closing of the Ordot
Dump’s gates and the opening of the Layon landfill, two
significant steps toward the enhanced protection of the environment
and the public’s health,” said Ignacia S. Moreno,
Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s
Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Under an
agreement between the U.S. and Guam, as implemented by the
court-appointed Receiver, the new Layon landfill will bring online
a safer and environmentally sound system for waste disposal on
Guam. Its opening will allow the Receiver to focus its continuing
efforts on ensuring that the Ordot Dump is safely and permanently
closed.”
The new landfill at Layon is designed
and constructed with a number of environmental controls, such as
double liners, to protect Guam’s environment and the public
from waste contamination.
Along with permanently closing the
Ordot Dump, the Receiver also will be developing and implementing
an island-wide waste diversion and management program for household
hazardous waste to prevent the land disposal of such
waste.
###