EPA awards over $3.1 million to Guam for environmental protection

EPA Press Release:

For Immediate Release: October 8, 2014

Contact:          Dean Higuchi, 808-541-2711, higuchi.dean@epa.gov                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

EPA awards over $3.1 million to Guam for environmental protection

HONOLULU – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is awarding over $3.1 to Guam for environmental protection work.

“EPA’s funding enables Guam to advance their goals in the pursuit of clean air, water and land,” said Jared Blumenfeld, Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “The continued program work and improvements will greatly benefit the residents of Guam and their precious island resources.”

The funding will go to support the operations of the Guam Environmental Protection Agency (GEPA). The work done by the agency includes inspections, monitoring the safety of beaches and drinking water, permit writing, enforcement and other facets of their environmental protection programs.

The funding will enable GEPA to continue a host of ongoing environmental programs including:

-Reducing non-point source pollution in the Ugum watershed, a key drinking water source for southern Guam, through education and outreach, improved land management and construction practices, and afforestation of eroded areas;

-Protection of the Northern Guam Lens, the island’s sole-source drinking water aquifer, through permitting and enforcement programs designed to prevent contamination, maintain water quality, and ensure potable drinking water for the residents of Guam;

-Weekly monitoring of 44 recreational beaches around the island for microbiological contamination;

-Improvements to automate, standardize, and provide real-time access for sharing environmental data through development of the Guam Facility Registry System and improvements to Guam EPA’s geographic information system (GIS);

-Continued development of GEPA’s Brownfields program and selection of clean-up sites;

-Pesticide management to educate farmers on proper application techniques and eliminate illegal importation and use of unregistered pesticides;

- Inspections Guam wide to help ensure safe underground and above ground fuel storage tanks;

-GEPA emergency response, hazardous waste and clean air program management.

The EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region (Region 9) administers and enforces federal environmental laws in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, the Pacific Islands and 148 tribal nations -- home to more than 48 million people.

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