EPA Sues Guam To Close Landfill

Danielle Jackson

Hagatna, Guam — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Washington, D.C., has filed suit against Guam to close an over-capacity landfill that federal officials have considered a health hazard since 1986.

In its suit, the EPA alleges that the landfill, called Ordot Dump, has repeatedly violated the Clean Water Act since 1986 when pollutants first started seeping from the dump into the nearby Lonfit River. The landfill is owned and operated by the Guam Department of Public Works.

Guam officials have said that the landfill’s closure and the opening of a new facility could cost as much as $35 million. The attorney general’s office has begun reviewing the case and has until August 28 to respond before pre-trial hearings begin.