282. Those Stinking Rules

According to today's news, (and we had hints of this earlier thanks to Tina Sablan), CUC failed to comply with federal EPA permitting requirements.

Why?

They were in a hurry? They thought the US laws didn't apply to them (and don't confuse us with the concept of federalism!)? The money was burning a hole in their pockets?

Now our Governor "fears that the lack of permits or permitting process would postpone or eliminate" uninterrupted service.

Let's see...Joe Taotao doesn't comply with CUC regs in hooking up power to his house because he needs power now, his family will suffer without it, and doing it the right way would postpone his service. What would happen? I'm pretty sure CUC would disconnect him before you could say Governor Benigno R. Fitial.

Remember, this is the same Governor who was so terribly concerned about our schools complying with water quality PERMITTING from DEQ that he shut the schools down for not having permits-despite the real meaning of the water quality tests, the fact that schools had already addressed the issues, and the failure of DEQ, beyond PSS's control, to return and do follow up testing. It was so extraordinarily important that the PERMITTING requirements be complied with that he interrupted school for our children.

But now he's going to argue that the US is somehow wrong for suggesting the CNMI should comply with US permitting requirements for environmental quality? That making us comply would interrupt our power, so we should get a pass until we "eventually work" it out?

"We don't want to be stuck until all the "i's are dotted and all the 't's crossed..."
Charles Reyes, press secretary for the Governor's office

We don't want the rules applied to us the way we applied them to PSS?


Our government spends 1.5 million dollars without first checking to see if the "solution" is legal? And then tries to dance around the fact?

Brilliant.