Embedded Files
09/26/2025 - Rep. John Paul Sablan has introduced a bill to prevent the CNMI from becoming a regional dumping ground for waste generated off-island.
House Bill 24-60, introduced last Sept. 11, seeks to explicitly restrict the acceptance and disposal of off-island waste in the CNMI’s landfills unless stringent health, safety, and environmental conditions are met.
The measure was immediately referred to the House of Representative’s Standing Committee on Natural Resources for further review.
According to the bill’s findings, the U.S. Department of Defense contractors have recently sought to dispose of construction and demolition debris from the Marshall Islands and pharmaceutical waste from Guam in Commonwealth landfills. While current practice allows such waste to be accepted if it is certified as non-hazardous, Sablan warned that the practice still poses risks and accelerates the depletion of the Commonwealth’s limited landfill space.
“This act is crafted to protect public health, safety, and the environment by applying the Commonwealth's environmental safeguards to all solid waste, while imposing additional, neutral conditions on imported waste to address the unique risks of off-island disposal and the Commonwealth's limited landfill capacity. These measures are carefully tailored to ensure that imported waste is managed to at least the same standard as local waste, with further safeguards justified by the distinct risks posed by the shipment and handling of imported waste, uncertainties in its composition, and the added strain such disposal places on the Commonwealth's finite landfill capacity,” the bill stated.
The measure would make it unlawful to import or accept waste that was not generated in the CNMI unless a special permit is granted under strict conditions. The Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality, in consultation with the Department of Public Works, would be tasked with issuing such permits only if no practicable alternative exists, if the waste meets CNMI’s environmental standards, and if acceptance would not unreasonably burden local landfill capacity.
Applicants would also be required to pay cost-based impact fees, provide financial assurances such as bonds or insurance, and undergo public notice and hearing requirements before any permit is approved. Exceptions would be made for waste streams the CNMI is required to accept under federal law, materials imported solely for recycling or resource recovery, and emergency situations declared by the governor.
Sablan’s proposal emphasizes that the bill is not meant to discriminate against interstate commerce, which could violate the U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause, but to protect the CNMI’s environment and scarce landfill capacity.
If enacted, the law would direct BECQ to establish regulations within 180 days, including landfill capacity thresholds, impact fee schedules, and financial assurance requirements.
Report by Mark Rabago
Report abuse