Navy Signs MOU Agreeing to Partner with Government of Guam on Utility Solutions

By Catherine Cruz Norton, Naval Facilities Engineering Command Marianas

HAGATNA, Guam (NNS) -- The Navy signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Consolidated Commission on Utilities (CCU), Guam Waterworks Authority (GWA) and the Guam Power Authority (GPA) July 16 in Hagatna, Guam.

By signing the MOU, the Navy is agreeing to collaborate on solutions to improve utilities on Guam in preparation for the Marine relocation from Okinawa, Japan.

During a signing ceremony in the conference room at the Governor's complex both military and government of Guam officials convened in the spirit of partnering to formalizing months of technical meetings and cooperative discussions.

"This is a great day," said Capt. Peter Lynch, commanding officer, Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Marianas. "This MOU is a historic document which signifies many months of technical discussions to identify utility requirements and solutions. We are extremely pleased to agree in principal to a collaborative approach to solutions for power, water and waste water requirements."

The intent of the partnering sessions was to ensure capability and capacity of government of Guam assets and resources to handle impending impacts due to the additional demand based on military surge in the realignment effort.

"These MOUs provide the conceptual framework to address viable solutions to insure that GPA and GWA can serve the energy, water and waste water needs of the proposed military build-up without compromising or adversely affecting the quality or cost of service to meet all future needs of Guam – both civilian and military," said CCU Chairman Simon Sanchez II.

Sanchez said DoD and GWA are already working collaboratively with the University of Guam's Water and Energy Research Institute (WERI), the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to determine how best to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Northern Guam lens aquifer. In addition, a civilian-military advisory group is proposed to help provide long-term aquifer management.

As it concerns electricity requirements, the MOU states the DoD and local team will work together to identify ways to meet the projected power demand of the military buildup. The projected demand is 30 mega-watts, according to the CCU. The MOU provides an agreement that the team will work toward upgrades and reconditioning of three or more of GPA's combustion turbines to meet the additional load at no cost to ratepayers. The group has also agreed to explore opportunities to work together on renewable energy projects.

"We expect this to be a mutually beneficial arrangement for the entire community, both our civilian neighbors, military service members and their families," said Rear Adm. Paul Bushong, commander, Joint Region Marianas. "We are committed to minimizing the impact on the island's utilities and protecting our natural resources."

While infrastructure improvements or construction associated with the military buildup will not take place until the record of decision is signed, this team of DoD and local government representatives continue to work on technical solutions to ease the impacts associated with population growth.