Lance Richman, special assistant at the Guam Environmental Protection Agency, said the agency has asked the Navy to split the samples to provide material that the local agency can have tested. The Navy has provided some core samples to Guam EPA, which is working with the Water and Energy Research Institute of the Pacific at the University of Guam. Richardson said the Navy's samples have been sent to the Army Corps of Engineers for analysis, but results have not been received. We don't know what's in there. She said Navy officials believe the harbor could contain contaminants from runoff, work in the harbor and other sources.
Testing is one of the first steps in the process of dredging the inner harbor area.
Richardson said the Navy does not have funding for the dredging work, but plans are in place. The harbor was last dredged in 1978, but consultants have recommended dredging the area again because silt and sediment have settled there, Pacific Daily News files said. All rights reserved.