21 Nov 2016

American Samoa demand US military clean up fuel site

10:15 am on 21 November 2016

There is anger in American Samoa at the US Defense Department's refusal to do anything about an old army fuel storage site that has contaminated the surrounding soils.

The fuel site was used during World War Two when American Samoa served as a staging post for US troops fighting further west in the Pacific.

The American Samoa Power Authority wants to put sanitation and water supply systems through the area at Aua on Tutuila but its executive director, Utu Abe Malae, says it is too risky and costly for them.

Mr Malae said they want the Corps of Engineers to at least take a role in the cleanup.

"We would like the Department of Defense to come and take a look and investigate and see what the cost is, and there is a cost to this. We would like them to help pay for it, correcting this problem before we start going - we cannot issue a contract with the companies because there is too much risk in terms of the cost escalatng."

Mr Malae said the Defense Department wrote a terse letter from their office in Hawaii saying they will not be taking any action.