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USEPA recognizes local piggery compliance program
The American Samoa Environmental Protection Agency’s local piggery compliance program was recognized during the USEPA’s Pacific Southwest regional awards ceremony held in San Francisco, California earlier this month.
This is the first time ASEPA has been presented with such an award since it was established as a government agency many years ago. In addition, ASEPA was the only Pacific Islands EPA agency to receive an award this year.
ASEPA’s Lt. Elena Vaouli and legal counsel Nathan Mease attended the awards ceremony to accept the plaque in place of ASEPA executive director Fanuatele Dr. Toafa Vaiaga’e who was unable to make the trip due to prior commitments.
Fanuatele said the award serves not only as recognition of the territory and its efforts, but also as credit for Governor Togiola Tulafono for supporting the implementation of the program in the territory. He also extended credit to the ASEPA clean water staff and the Department of Health for their continuous support.
A few years back, Togiola called on the piggery owners and local residents to collaborate and work together on ways to overcome health problems created by pig waste, by heeding the warnings and advisories issued by local officials on the subject.
ASEPA was one of over 20 organizations and individuals throughout the region that was recognized for their efforts to protect and preserve the environment in 2007. This is quite an honor, considering that this year the USEPA received 130 nominations.
In a statement, USEPA regional administrator Wayne Nastri said that the USEPA is pleased and honored to acknowledge the innovative and far-reaching environmental work achieved by this impressive group of organizations and individuals.
He wrote, “They set an example for all of us to follow. All of this year’s winners – in fact, all of this year’s nominees – have made commendable efforts to protect and preserve our air, water, and land, or increased our awareness of the environmental challenges we face.”
According to the USEPA, a significant percentage of families in American Samoa raise pigs for, among other things, use during family and village celebrations where pigs are roasted and served as the central part of the feast.
As the local population increases, so has the number of pigs, resulting in growing concerns about pig waste contributing to not only disease but also pollution. One of the diseases addressed is Leptosprirosis, which is associated with the urine of pigs and other animals that can infect humans through contact with contaminated water.
Leptospirosis is a local concern as the common location for a pig pen is above or adjacent a stream where washed up pig waste ends up.
To help combat the problem, the ASEPA created the Piggery Compliance Team. Since its formation, the compliance team has been able to identify over 1,000 families that own and operate piggeries.
Team members not only conducted outreach, but they also educated the families on how to comply with regulations, before carrying out follow-up inspections and, when necessary, taking action to ensure that everything was in compliance.
By the end of last year, the compliance team had shut down a total of 69 non-compliant piggeries and helped 57 other piggery owners get everything squared away so they can be in compliance.
Fanuatele expressed gratitude to the USEPA Region IX office for their support of a program which he says will serve as a model for other states and territories that deal with piggeries.
Region IX covers Nevada, California, Hawaii, Arizona, the US Pacific territories and tribal lands.
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