A Do Not Drink advisory is still in place after more than 1,100 households were told in September that their water supply from well Y-15 in Yigo contained the banned pesticide Dieldrin.
On Oct. 12, GWA completed installation of an interim treatment system for the well. The Do Not Drink order will not be lifted until after a series of test results. According to GWA, the decision to lift the order will be taken by GWA and Guam EPA, after testing. Nic Lee, PIO for GWA, told media on Oct. 13, that the first test results will likely be available in October. “We expect results back within seven to 10 business days.”
GWA's Y-15 water well in Yigo was outfitted with an interim water treatment system on Oct. 12. Photo by Skyler Obispo
Leewin T. Camacho, attorney with Camacho & Taitano LLP, said the practice issued a notice to sue “about two months ago,” he told the Journal on Oct. 14. He has been following progress, he said. “There’s been quite a lot of activity since then.”
He said his office has been investigating the timeline of which agencies knew what, and when.
U.S. EPA sent GWA and Guam EPA a “Finding of Significant Deficiencies” in GWA’s public water system in the 2012/2013 timeframe, Camacho said, and his office reached out to the two agencies about the letter. “They said they lost track of it,” he said.
Camacho’s office also served a Sunshine Act Freedom of Information request for documentation related to the dieldrin issue. “We received 1,150 documents on [Oct. 11],” he said.
As to whether Camacho’s practice would file a class action suit, Camacho said he could not confirm that at this point. However, he said, “We’re not ruling it out.” mbj
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South Korea’s budget airlines Air Busan, Jin Air and Air Seoul will merge into single carrier by March 2027. The boards of all three companies approved the merger plan and signed the agreement on Aug 21. The carrier will operate under the Jin Air name.
Faʻasao Amerika Samoa and the Conservation Council for Hawaii, represented by the environmental law organization Earthjustice, filed a lawsuit Aug. 18 challenging the Trump administration’s attempt to launch deep-sea mining off the coast of American Samoa.
