MilCon awards includes Mariana Islands work
Design Partners Inc. of Honolulu, was awarded a $49 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, architectural-engineering contract for “services for housing and other lodging-type projects at various locations in the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Pacific area of operations,” according to a Sept. 13 release from the U.S. Department of Defense in Washington, D.C.
Aside from architectural and engineering services, the work includes “comprehensive interior design including structural interior design and furniture, fixtures, and equipment; collateral equipment buy packages; and post construction award services.”
Work will take place in Guam and the Mariana Islands, 70%; Hawaii, 20%; and Australia, 10%. The contract has an expected completion date of September 2027, was competitively procured via the System for Award Management website with four proposals received and was awarded by NAVFAC Pacific.
Architectural firms in Hawaii have seen a large part of the military construction pie awarded – also as part of joint ventures which include Guam-based companies.
As well as work for U.S. federal clients, Design Partners undertakes significant work in the commercial market in Hawaii, according to its website.
In other MilCon news, Cape Environmental Management Inc. of Norcross, Ga., EA Engineering, Science, and Technology Inc. of Hunt Valley, Md., Environmental Chemical Corp. of Burlingame, Calif., Engineering/Remediation Resources Group Inc. of Honolulu, Insight-ESI LLC of Brea, Calif. and Noreas Dawson Environmental Remediation JV of Irvine, Calif. were awarded a combined $120 million firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple award contract for environmental remedial action services for sites within the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Pacific area of operations.
EA Engineering has a Guam office.
Work will be performed in Guam, 13%; Hawaii, 15%; California, 71% and Nevada, 1%; and is expected to be completed by September 2030. “Work may also be performed outside of the NAVFAC Pacific area of responsibility and include work for other Department of Defense or federal agencies, as required, according to a Sept. 15 release. The contract was competitively procured via the System for Award Management website, with seven offers received, and was awarded by NAVFAC Pacific.
JRM prioritizing Guam missile sites
Joint Region Marianas announced the need to “adjust” the current plan for Energy Enhanced Use Lease agreements with the Guam Power Authority, “due to emerging requirements for missile defense capabilities to support defense of Guam initiatives,” in a Sept. 14 release – or in plainer language, to retain the parcels JRM leased to GPA. GPA had an agreement to lease properties on Naval Base Guam and in South Finegayan.
The U.S. Department of Defense has reiterated the need to defend Guam as tensions have increased in the Asia Pacific region.
Rear Adm. Benjamin R. Nicholson underlined the same priorities to the Journal, in briefings with Guam media and in statements.
Speaking at a media briefing on May 9, Nicholson said the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense or THAAD system would be moved to Navy land in South Finegayan to “increase the capability the THAAD provides for Guam.”
The 2023 National Defense Authorization Act contained $539 million for Guam’s defense, including land-based radar.
According to Journal files, Rockwell Collins Inc. of Collins Aerospace-Mission Aerospace, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was awarded a “$176,979,374 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for High Frequency Global Communications System– Scope Command Next Generation,” according to an Aug. 29 release from Washington, D.C.
Nicholson
The contract supports a ground radio equipment/network infrastructure and associated antenna subsystems in support of strategic military command and control communications and includes “Barrigada and Finegayan” sites.
Gubernatorial debate full to bursting
The Saipan Chamber of Commerce will host the 2022 Gubernatorial Candidate Debate for the Northern Mariana Islands gubernatorial candidates on Sept. 29 at the Saipan World Resort. The debate will be from 6 to 8 p.m., with doors opening at 5 p.m.
Candidates are Gov. Ralph DLG. Torres, Lt. Gov. Arnold I. Palacios, and Rep. Christina E. Sablan.
According to the chamber the event is sold out, with more than 540 people attending the debate in the resort’s Taga Hall. Tickets were sold for $10 each.
Patti Arroyo, Sorensen Media Group’s morning radio show host, will moderate the event.
The Guam Hotel & Restaurant Association is sharing the Comprehensive Food Plan from the Guam Department of Public Health & Social Services. Please submit and feedback to [email protected] by Sept. 30.
The Guam Food Safety Advisory Group is working on replacing Guam’s Food Code with the 2017 FDA Food Code. Attached are the Supplement to the 2017 Food Code and the Summary of Changes in the FDA Food Code 2017.
Supplement to the 2017 Food Code
Summary of Changes in the FDA Food Code 2017
Environmental groups sue U.S. EPA
The Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Earth filed a notice of intent Sept. 13 in Washington, D.C. to “sue the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to finalize nationwide standards to protect U.S. waterways from harmful vessel discharges.” These discharges carry invasive species, pathogens and other pollutants that pose serious threats to the nation’s waters, ecosystems, economy and public health, according to a release.
“Ballast water, which is taken up and carried in a ship’s ballast tanks to improve stability, includes plants and other organisms from the vessel’s region of origin. This water and its biological baggage are then re-released in destination regions, where some species become pests and threaten water quality. Environmental and community groups have been fighting for more than a decade for strong standards that would minimize the harms inflicted by ballast water and other vessel discharges,” the center said.
“On Dec. 4, 2018, Congress passed the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act, consolidating laws that regulated vessel discharges to prevent the introduction of harmful pollutants. The law requires the EPA to establish vessel discharge standards, including to control ballast water pollution, by Dec. 4, 2020. While EPA released a proposed rule on Oct. 26, 2020, the agency never finalized it, the release said.
The ruling also covers U.S. waterways around U.S. territories, according to the center.
The center – together with Blue Ocean Law of Guam – successfully sued in April “to identify and protect” 23 species in the Micronesian region, according to Journal files. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service now must act on critical habitat for nine rare animals and 14 plants by June 26, 2025.
And also:
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service announced Sept. 13 it has signed a cooperative agreement with the Northern Mariana Islands under the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program. Through LFPA, the NMI can purchase and distribute locally grown, produced, and processed food from underserved producers.
USDA will award the NMI a $200,000 grant for 24 months.
Eight participants completed the first IT Cybersecurity “Boot Camp” at Guam Community College. They are either employed by or in the process of being hired by GCC’s partner companies: Docomo Pacific, G4S and Quantum Technology Group, according to GCC. mbj