The Chief Engineer of the Waste Water Division of the American Samoa Power Authority is rallying for public support to get the US Army Corps of Engineers to provide funding to clean up fuel that’s seeped in to the ground, the soil and run off into the ocean at Aua and along the coast to the east end of the island.
Jason Jaskoviak is urging residents to reach out to politicians and higher ups in the military to not let the US Navy walk away from the contamination that it left behind but to provide funding to the territory to protect against the effects of the fuel contamination.
In the era of naval administration, a fuel tank farm was located in Aua with underground pipes from the tank depot to the canneries.
From that time there was leakage from the underground pipes.
Jaskoviak says there have been efforts over the years to clean up and mitigate against contamination of the ground and ocean.
But it’s not enough.
He says the contamination has driven up costs of infrastructure projects for Aua and villages in the Eastern District, costs he believes should be borne by the military.
However the US Army Corps of Engineers has said that their attorneys have advised there’s no human risk so it’s not providing any further assistance to safeguard from the effects of the fuel leakage.
Jaskoviak says the Army Corps cannot wash its hands of the pollution at Aua.
He says the government and residents will end up having to pay high costs of extra measures to deal with the fuel pollution.
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