Military Buildup: Challenges Over The Next 5 years

1. Getting The Infrastructure in Place: A Legislative Chairman’s PerspectivePresented to 28th General Assembly, APILJune 10, 2009Pohnpei, FSMBySenator Tom Ada, 30th Guam LegislatureChairman, Committee on Utilities, Transportation, Public Works, andVeterans Affairs

2. Military Buildup:Challenges Over The Next 5 years • Increase Capacity of: • Seaport • Major Roadways • Utility Services • Improve the Mass Transit System • Revision of Construction Regulations • Labor Camps and the Public Health

3. Quantifying the Challenges? • Building capacity at the Seaport • Financing a $200M modernization plan • 90%  in Container throughput • 100%  in Break Bulk throughput

4. Quantifying the Challenges? • Providing Roadway Capacity • Traffic volumes on major roadways expected to increase 100% to 250%. • Timely contracting and completion of road widening and hardening projects, using $140M of available federal funds.

5. Quantifying the Challenges? • Providing Mobility via Mass Transit • Influx of 17,000 (est) construction workers • Increasing Utility Capacity • New demand: 44% population increase

6. Other Challenges • Ensuring Public Safety in Building Structures Through Adoption of Current Codes & Regulations, i.e., International Building Code, Contractor Licensing Regulations, and Registration of Professional Engineers and Architects (policies intro by Sen Espaldon; enacted into law) • Environmental Health and Safety in Temporary Workforce Housings (Labor Camps); a special concern of the Committee.

7. Addressing the Concerns • Committee Focus • Introduction of infrastructure related public policy to mitigate impact of military buildup • Priority of Committee effort to public policy intended to mitigate impact of military buildup.

8. Committee Actions: Seaport • Setting of tariffs for revenue generation to be regulated by PUC, an independent regulatory entity (Bill introduced) • Facilitation of recruitment & retention of skilled personnel by establishing competitive compensation levels for CTPs and positions unique to port operations. (Bill introduced) • Regularly scheduled monthly meeting

9. Committee Actions: Transportation • Bill introduced to establish autonomous Mass Transit Authority; enacted into law. Sets the stage for MTA to receive initial $20M federal funding to purchase buses and construct maintenance and transportation facilities (Co-Sponsor of Bill – Sen Tina Barnes)

10. Committee Actions: Transportation • Bills in final stages of formulation for: • Adoption of Transptn Master Plan, • Rights-of-Way Regulations, • Roadway Encroachment legislation • Seat Belt usage and regulation of passengers riding in the back of pickup trucks • Regularly scheduled weekly meetings

11. Committee Actions: Utilities Water and Power Utilities • Discussions with military focused at operation of one island-wide utility system, with military as a customer. • Active dialogue with military by CCU; Legislative intervention minimal. • Regularly scheduled monthly meetings

12. Labor Camps & the Public Health • 17,000 temporary workers housed in densely populated labor camps run a high risk for outbreaks of disease, • DPHSS severely understaffed to perform inspections regularly, • Bill introduced to authorize DPHSS to contract independent inspection companies to augment staff capacity. • Funding for program to come from annual fees assessed to employers bringing in temporary nonimmigrant workers.

13. CLOSING • Military Buildup will bring many economic benefits, as well as challenges. • The military buildup is not a question of “IF”, but “WHEN”, • Although plans for the buildup are not yet finalized, foresight is needed to effectively anticipate the challenges.

14. CLOSING • Time frame to install Infrastructure improvements are being compressed. • GovGuam making case for military to fund infrastructure improvements needed to support surge from military buildup activities.