Littering is a problem that has continuously plagued the territory. Executive Director for the American Samoa Power Authority (ASPA) Utu Abe Malae agrees, and says, “Littering is still a huge problem in American Samoa because of the bad behavior of some of our people.”

Utu oversees the semi-autonomous agency that has been given authority to enforce laws against littering.

Governor Lolo Matalasi Moliga signed into law the “Keep American Samoa Beautiful Act” late last year, a piece of legislation that Utu says “is still going through the process of training and preparation.”

It aims to improve litter enforcement in the territory and authorizes certain government agencies to issue littering citations.

But little has been done to address problems with illegal roadside dumping in areas like Poloa where not too many people pass by to notice.

Residents living in the far out west side villages are now screaming for help, wanting to know which department or agency is in charge of addressing a problem that seems to be spreading like wildfire.

Referring to the Poloa roadside, one local resident said, “It has become an eye-sore, besides a health hazard. With the implementation of the anti-litter law, my question is, why is nothing being done with this trash? Obviously, there has been no citation; otherwise, it would have been cleaned up. Is it ‘out of sight, out of mind’?

Samoa News understands that complaints about the area in question have been reported — often — to the AS-EPA and also the Office of Samoan Affairs, which are two of the seven agencies given authority to issue citations under the Keep American Samoa Beautiful Act that was signed into law October 2016 — but to this day, nothing has been done to address it.

In addition to the Poloa roadside, west side residents have reported an increasing amount of trash being scattered alongside the road in Fagali’i.

KEEP AMERICAN SAMOA BEAUTIFUL ACT

The Keep American Samoa Beautiful Act designates the AS Environmental Protection Agency (AS-EPA) as the lead agency for administrative management, as well as imposing penalties and enforcement fees.

Prior to the signing of the Act, only the Department of Public Safety (DPS) had the authority to enforce laws against littering. But the new law extends the enforcement authority to the AS-EPA, the American Samoa Power Authority (ASPA), the Department of Health (DOH), the Office of Samoan Affairs, the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR), and the Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources (DMWR).

”As we face the known difficulties of sustaining our tuna industry, we must look to other avenues for economic development, one of which is the tourism industry,” Lolo wrote in a letter to Senate President Gaoteote Palaie Tofau announcing the signing of the bill into law last October.

Enhancing our litter enforcement capabilities, Lolo continued, “Will help reduce run-off of human generated rubbish into our streams and lagoons, contributing to a healthier ecosystem.”

According to data from the AS-EPA, some of the most common types of litter include cigarette butts, bottles, cans, shopping bags, snack food packaging, and take-out (foam) products.

Between February and April 2016, community groups involved in the AS-EPA’s “Keep American Samoa Beautiful” program collected a total of 3,223 pounds of litter from various areas across the territory.

The number however does not include the countless pounds of litter collected by the government and private contractors during the same time period.

The legislation points out that “although there are already certain laws that regulate littering in American Samoa, enforcement of these outdated laws has proven inadequate to combat our ever-increasing litter problem. Given the territory’s current and projected population growth and development, proactive measures are necessary to address the health and environmental harm caused by the litter epidemic.”

Under the Act, “litter” is defined as “rubbish, refuse, waste, materials, garbage, trash, offal, any dead animal, or any debris of any kind or description whether or not it is of value, including improperly discarded paper, metal, plastic, glass, cloth, and any liquid, infectious, or solid wastes.”

For the purpose of the Act, “littering” includes “placing, throwing, or dropping litter on public, communal, or private real property, or in any waters of the territory.”

Furthermore, “in the case of litter discarded from a moving motor vehicle, the vehicle may only by stopped by law enforcement officers of the Department of Public Safety. The driver of the motor vehicle is responsible for the littering violation.”

REACTION FROM ASPA AND AS-EPA

Utu is off island but responded to Samoa News queries via email late last week. According to the ASPA Executive Director, “It takes only a small percentage of the population to behave badly; and like the proverbial fly in the ointment, the entire ointment is ruined. Drive by the freshly repainted bus shelters and you will see perfectly healthy, cognitively functioning people get up and leave their rubbish on the ground, only several yards away from the trash bin.”

He said the issue in Poloa “involves dumping, or the thoughtless drive-by discarding of detritus on other people's property or the common property of the territory: the roadsides.”

According to Utu, reports involving items like junk vehicles or solid waste should be reported to the AS-EPA and Department of Health (DOH).

As for enforcement, said Utu, “the best, most prepared enforcers are the police officers.”

Ioane Tomanogi, AS-EPA’s Solid Waste Division Chief and coordinator of the KASB program confirmed yesterday that their office is aware of the illegal dumping going on in areas like Poloa, but added that it is difficult to bring the perpetrators to justice because those who report the violations never follow though.

“It’s hard because once we get the report, we respond and ask the witnesses to come in and make a sworn statement,” Tomanogi explained. “They never do.”

He said sometimes their office engages in “trash diving” which is basically sorting through trash to find discarded identification cards, mail, letters, or any other items that can identify the culprits.

He said that without signed statements from witnesses, their office cannot issue citations. With regards to the dumping in Poloa, Tomanogi said that because the area is located in a valley, they are limited in what they can do, because of safety reasons.

He said it is their hope that these ‘litter bugs’ will be caught and brought to justice. Tomanogi is seeking help from the local community, asking for witnesses to come forward and report those who are responsible for illegal trash dumping.

He said the National Park of American Samoa has installed cameras – one of which is on the Aua pass heading to Afono – to catch litter bugs in the act.

Tomanogi hopes that more cameras can be installed across the territory so the culprits can be caught in the act and ultimately, the surveillance will serve as a deterrent to those who are trashing the island.