EPA Approval Unlocks $34M for CNMI Waste and Recycling Projects

SAIPAN - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved the CNMI’s Comprehensive Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan, giving the Commonwealth full access to nearly $34 million in federal funding for solid waste and recycling infrastructure.

The plan’s approval, issued September 25, 2025, comes after years of work by the Inter-Island Solid Waste Management Taskforce, which was revived in 2020 to coordinate the islands’ long-term waste strategy. With the EPA’s green light, funds from the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019 can now be used to modernize landfills, expand recycling and composting facilities, and support public education programs across Saipan, Tinian, Rota, and the Northern Islands.

Elizabeth S. Balajadia, P.E., acting director of the Office of Planning and Development, thanked the taskforce and federal partners for their role in pushing the plan over the finish line. “This approval allows us to fully use ASADRA funding to invest in more staff and in more enhanced, modernized, and resilient solid waste and recycling infrastructure throughout the CNMI over the coming years,” she said.

The $56 million ASADRA appropriation has already delivered about $22 million in projects, with the remaining $34 million held back until the EPA-approved plan was in place. Now, those funds are open for priority upgrades.

The ISWMT includes OPD, the Department of Public Works, Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality, Department of Lands and Natural Resources, and the mayoral offices of Saipan, Tinian and Aguiguan, Rota, and the Northern Islands. The taskforce said it will continue to drive improvements through interagency coordination, public-private partnerships, and community outreach.

#CNMI #EPA #CISWMP #SolidWaste #Recycling #Infrastructure #Sustainability #Marianas #Saipan #Tinian #Rota #NorthernIslands #ASADRA #CommunityGrowth CNMI Office of Planning and Development