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Guam EPA administrative report details staffing, lab plans, waste bills and grants
Summary
Acting Deputy Glenn Cinecas presented an administrative update covering staffing and recruitment, the agency headquarters negotiations, lab design progress, pending legislation on solid waste collection and a plastic bag ban, multiple grant awards, and an audit of the recycling revolving fund.
Acting Deputy Administrator Glenn Cinecas told the Guam Environmental Protection Agency board on March 20 that the agency employed 55 full-time-equivalent staff as of March 19, 2025, and provided a breakdown of classified and limited-term positions.
Cinecas said recruitment notices have closed for multiple positions and that the agency is awaiting certification packets from the Department of Administration for roles including chief engineer, environmental inspector supervisor and environmental technicians. “Full time equivalent FTEs, we have 55 employees broken down to 46 classified, 3 unclassified, 4 limited term appointments, 1 EPA contract, and 1 intern,” he reported.
Cinecas gave an update on planned laboratory work and related procurement. He said a bidder had consulted with three lab specialists and expected to submit a final fee proposal before the end of the next week for lab design work tied to public works. The board also heard that agency headquarters lease negotiations remain ongoing and “no contract signed at this time,” Cinecas said.
On legislation, Cinecas told the board the agency submitted testimony supporting a draft law described in the meeting as “Bill 30-38,” which would add provisions to Guam law to establish a Guam Solid Waste Authority Island Light Collection Plan. He also discussed the island’s plastic bag ban under Public Law 36-98, effective July 1, 2025, noting that the agency has advised that branded “luxury” bags used as product packaging may be treated differently from ordinary carryout paper bags. “Guam EPA is agreeable that branded luxury bags used in product packaging are equivalent to standard reusable supermarket bags,” he said, explaining the agency’s position on packaging exemptions.
Cinecas also reported that the Office of Public Accountability will audit the recycling revolving fund and has requested financial statements for fiscal years 2017 through 2024. He said US EPA staff are reviewing Emerging Contaminants grant awards and that the agency is monitoring possible changes pending US EPA internal review.
Cinecas summarized multiple interagency and regional projects involving Guam EPA: participation on a Regional Ecosystem Advisory Committee, support for a Seashore Reserve Plan that uses a ridge-to-reef approach, technical support on siting for a proposed new hospital, brownfields revitalization coordination with federal partners, a recent coastal cleanup at Hensa Beach (Pago Bay) in which Guam EPA provided 11 volunteers and a 30-cubic-yard roll-off dumpster, and watershed and stormwater planning work funded through bipartisan infrastructure law grants. He said the Guam Coastal Management Program was awarded a capacity-building grant of $501,801 to provide training and technical assistance over three years, and that other grant awards of roughly $90,000 and $95,000 were noted for specific planning efforts.
Cinecas told the board Guam EPA had engaged with congressional staff and Department of Defense liaisons on priorities and technical coordination. He closed by saying water quality sampling results were not yet available and that the agency expects to report them at a future meeting.
