Guam EPA board approves $2 million for DPW abandoned-vehicle removal program

The Guam Environmental Protection Agency Board of Directors voted Dec. 4 to allocate $2,000,000 from the RF to the Department of Public Works for pickup and disposal of abandoned vehicles, with a 10% cap on administrative costs.

Board discussion centered on revisions to a memorandum of agreement (MOA) and the related expenditure plan. A staff member explained the MOA changes, including deletion of a clause that had required the board to review the expenditure plan “no later than 30 days” and the addition of a new paragraph stating “ensure that administrative cost do not exceed 10% of the total amount of this MOA.” The board debated inconsistent figures in circulated documents and asked staff to correct a typographical error in the word “contract” and reconcile mismatched table totals.

Chairman noted the expenditure-plan target of removing 1,874 vehicles and reviewed historical data, saying the last fiscal year removed 1,883 vehicles for $1,100,000. He observed that at a 22% year-over-year escalation the cost to remove the same 1,874 vehicles would be roughly $1.7 million and that $2 million could remove up to about 2,225 vehicles under the meeting’s assumptions.

Vince Areola of DPW said the agency is preparing a request for information before issuing an RFP or IFB and that market research has identified two start-up recyclers that expect to process whole vehicles at significantly lower rates than current market costs. “Both companies are gonna be able to take the cars whole,” Areola said, saying they would do stripping and processing offsite and likely ship material off island.

Areola emphasized the need for a reliable tracking system so each vehicle sent to contractors can be verified as processed and exported, and he said DPW expects most work to be contracted out while DPW’s role would be limited to staging or program oversight in some cases.

A board member moved to allocate $2,000,000 from the RF to DPW for the program; the chairman seconded. The chair called for the vote and, hearing no opposition, declared the motion passed.

The approved allocation includes a maximum $200,000 for administrative costs (10% of the $2,000,000) and $1,800,000 intended for collection and disposal work. Staff said DPW must report back at the end of the fiscal year on the number of cars processed under the RF-funded program. The board asked staff to clarify the MOA’s whereas language to explicitly cite the statutory authority for the allocation.

Next steps: DPW will proceed with market outreach and procurement planning and will keep the board informed through the agency administrator as the program is implemented.