Rota public works warns landfill operations strained; seeks repairs, staffing and grant support

Rota — The resident director for the Department of Public Works, George Atalik, told the Senate Fiscal Affairs Committee during Rota’s FY2026 budget hearing that the municipality’s solid waste operations are struggling and need immediate maintenance funding, staffing adjustments and support to implement grants and permitting requirements.

Atalik told committee members the landfill’s water testing has been completed and that permitting applications are pending with the Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality and other agencies, but that a key piece of heavy equipment is nonfunctional and parts and repair costs have strained local funds. “We’re still struggling, under the, the solid waste pay, landfill,” Atalik said. He later said the department has spent about $8,000 on parts so far and expects an additional roughly $4,000 for the mechanic’s work.

Why it matters: DPW’s testimony described operational shortfalls that the committee said risk noncompliance with permitting and environmental standards and could block implementation of a proposed recycling program should state law change the administering agency. Committee members urged the department to document funding requests and to coordinate with the delegation and the secretary of finance to secure and certify available funds.

Key details

- Equipment and repairs: Atalik said mechanics and special-order parts are on order, with about $8,000 already spent and an estimated additional $4,000 needed to complete repairs. The department said there is no identified external funding to cover the outstanding repair.

- Revolving account discrepancy: DPW staff reported a discrepancy between the department’s financial system and what appears available for the Technical Services Division (TSD). The system displayed $35,682.70 available while the on‑hand balance in the office showed $797.15. The committee asked the director to submit a funds-certification request to the secretary of finance (named in the meeting) so finance can reconcile the difference.

- Hazardous pay: Committee members and Atalik discussed hazardous-pay claims. Atalik said hazardous pay through 2019 has been paid but 2020 claims remain pending; previous departmental submissions were rejected and the department is continuing to compile documentation for quarterly submission when funds are available.

- Tipping fee and subaccount: Atalik said a fixed tipping fee structure is in place and that the department set up a subaccount for solid waste collections; he reported a fixed rate of $3.50 for one described category (described in testimony as a local, fixed rate). Implementation depends on final permitting and on training the collection crew to process transactions.

- Grants and five‑year plan: Atalik said the department is participating in a SWIFR (described in testimony as a SWIFR/SWIFR‑type) grant and training; he provided rough, department-level planning estimates that include “about 2 point some” million dollars for greenways and roughly $10,000,000 for landfill projects on Rota. He described these figures as rough planning estimates rather than finalized awards.

Committee direction and next steps

- The committee advised DPW to continue submitting hazardous‑pay documentation on a quarterly basis so requests are ready to be processed when funds become available.

- Committee leadership asked DPW to send a funds-certification to the finance secretary (named in the hearing) to reconcile the TSD account discrepancy and to copy the island delegation so lawmakers can follow up if the department does not receive a timely reply.

- Senators said they will consider administrative or legislative adjustments to give municipalities clearer access to revolving resources and to coordinate visits from the DPW secretary and division chiefs to assess operations on Rota.

What the department asked for

- Immediate funding to complete heavy-equipment repairs. - Support to resolve the TSD revolving-account discrepancy with finance. - Continued grant support and technical help for permitting and implementation of solid-waste projects under SWIFR and related funding streams.

Quotes

“We’re still struggling, under the, the solid waste pay, landfill,” Resident Director George Atalik said, describing both equipment failures and shortfalls in available funds.

Senator Acasio, discussing a pending statewide recycling bill that would transfer responsibilities to DPW, said the change “should open up revenue streams for DPW” and urged coordination with the secretary so municipalities can be ready to implement the program if the bill is signed.

Ending

Committee members told DPW to document and continue submitting all claims and funding requests while the Fiscal Affairs Committee works with the delegation and finance officials to reconcile revolving accounts. The committee said it will consider statutory or administrative changes if needed during budget deliberations.