Title 10, Health and Safety

This Chapter may be cited as the Guam Solid Waste Authority Act.

As used in this Chapter, unless otherwise indicated: (a) “Authority” means the Guam Solid Waste Authority (GSWA). (b) “General Manager (GM)” means the General Manager of GSWA. (c) “Best public interest” means any activity which: lessens the demand for landfill sites, conserves la…

The Solid Waste Management Division, a sub-entity of the Department of Public Works shall continue in existence as an autonomous, public corporation now referred to as the Guam Solid Waste Authority (GSWA).

(a) The Authority shall have and exercise each and all of the following powers: (1) administer those powers listed under this Chapter 51A, Title 10 of the Guam Code Annotated; (2) acquire by grant, purchase, gift, devise or lease, or by the exercise of the right of eminent domain…

All powers vested in the Authority, except as provided herein, shall be exercised by a GWSA Board of Directors comprised of five (5) members appointed by I Maga’håga/Maga’låhi with the advice and consent of I Liheslatura. A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum. The o…

(a) The Board shall appoint a General Manager, who shall be its chief executive officer and shall serve at its pleasure. The General Manager shall, at a minimum, possess the following qualifications: (1) a combined minimum of six (6) years of documented experience successfully ma…

The General Manager, with the consent of the Board, may appoint an Assistant General Manager for Operations and Technical Support, who shall serve at the pleasure of the General Manager. (a) The Assistant General Manager for Operations and Technical Support shall be entitled to r…

The General Manager, with the consent of the Board, may appoint an Assistant General Manager for Administration, who shall serve at the pleasure of the General Manager. (a) The Assistant General Manager for Administration shall be entitled to receive compensation as recommended b…

The Board may appoint a Chief Financial Officer, who shall be a Certified Public Accountant. The Board shall fix the Chief Financial Officer’s compensation. The Chief Financial Officer shall have full charge and control of the fiscal, business and accounting operations of the Aut…

(a) The Board may also appoint a Secretary, a Comptroller, and an Attorney, who all shall serve at the pleasure of the Board, and whose duties and compensation shall be fixed by the Board. (1) The Board may appoint one (1) or more assistants to any such office. (2) Any of such of…

I Liheslaturan Guåhan finds that if all of Guam’s residents subscribe to GSWA garbage collection services, the economies of scale will result in lower rates per subscriber and simultaneously ensure that every resident’s garbage will be collected and properly disposed of. The impl…

The goals and objectives of the Islandwide Collection Plan include: (a) municipal garbage collection for all residential buildings comprised of four (4) units or less; (b) collection of unwanted appliances, electronics, and most types of batteries; (c) integration of public and p…

All owners of residential buildings shall subscribe to and obtain public or private garbage collection services, except as provided in § 51A1104 of this Article, under the following conditions: (a) Applicants for new service and existing customers of the Guam Waterworks Authority…

GSWA shall exempt from the requirements of § 51A1103 of this Article any owner who shows, and only so long as the owner can continue to show: (a) the owner of a residential building comprised of four (4) units or less, or other qualifying building, may forgo subscription if the l…

Penalties for failure to subscribe, failure to pay tipping fees, late payment fees and any other fees, shall be established by the Guam Solid Waste Authority Board of Directors pursuant to Chapter 9, Title 5, Guam Code Annotated, and in conjunction with the tipping fees establish…

(a) GSWA shall establish a Customer Assistance program, pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated through the Administrative Adjudication Law (Chapter 9, Title 5, Guam Code Annotated), to provide financial assistance to eligible ratepayers that shall be funded through Legisla…

GSWA may at any time receive subsidies from legislative appropriations or federal grants. Subsidies shall be used pursuant to the appropriation or grant language. Unless otherwise stated in the appropriation law or terms of the grant, funds appropriated or granted for residential…

All residential customer billings shall disclose the following: (a) the regular residential rate; (b) the GSWA subsidy (the difference between regular and lifeline rate), if applicable; and (c) any external subsidies to include but are not limited, General Fund Appropriations or …

(a) [No text] (1) All employees of the Authority shall be eligible for all insurance, retirement, worker’s compensation and other benefits as extended to employees of the government of Guam, and (2) shall be employees of the government of Guam for the purposes of the application …

Ninety (90) days after the effective date of this Act the Authority shall assume in writing from the Department of Public Works, Solid Waste Management Division: (a) all real property under the DPW Solid Waste Management Division (SWMD) administration and items of property, mater…

As an instrumentality of the government of Guam, the Authority and all property acquired by or for the Authority and all revenues and income therefrom are exempt from taxation by the government of Guam, COL 2025-12-23 or by any political subdivision or public corporation thereof …

Rates for Services. The Authority shall apply to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) for establishment of its rates for its services including, but not limited to: (a) Operating Costs: (1) Layon Landfill (2) Commercial Transfer Stations (3) Retail Transfer Stations (4) Resident…

(a) The Board shall adopt and maintain a system of accounting. (b) The Board shall authorize, by means of the annual budget, payment of demands against the Authority resulting from the exercise of its powers under this Act if: (1) the purposes and amounts of such demands are proj…

For the purposes of Chapter 51A of Title 10 of the Guam Code Annotated, the term annual budget means a balanced budget for expenditures of the Guam Solid Waste Authority for a fiscal year to be funded by the anticipated revenues and other funds to be received and expended for the…

(a) [No text] (1) Pursuant to the provisions of Title 4 GCA §§ 4105 and 4106, the Board shall establish rules and regulations regarding selection, promotion, performance evaluation, demotion, suspension and other disciplinary action for the employees of the Authority, which shall…

The following Subsections shall apply for purposes of effectuating the transition of personnel, procurement authority, and financial management from federal receivership to full management and operation of the Authority by the Authority upon termination of said receivership: (a) …

The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) shall perform a management audit of the existing operations of the Guam Solid Waste Authority. Said audit shall be initiated within sixty (60) days from the date of enactment of this Act and, to the maximum extent possible, completed by Decem…

(a) Rates and charges for the collection, transportation, disposal, storage, recycling and processing of solid waste in effect at the time of enactment of this Act shall remain in effect and be adopted by the Authority until the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has approved a pe…

No later than thirty (30) days before the effective date of transfer of operational control from the federal receiver to the Authority, the Authority shall assume in writing from the federal receiver: (a) all real property under the federal receiver’s administration, and items of…

The Guam Economic Development Authority (GEDA) may obtain funds through the issuance of bonds or other obligations on behalf of the Authority. (a) Bonds or Notes. Accordingly, the Authority, through GEDA, with the approval of I Maga’hågan/Maga’låhen Guåhan and I Liheslaturan Guåh…

Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Article, the Guam Economic Development Authority shall act as the Central Financial Manager and Consultant to the Authority and shall provide technical assistance in obtaining funds through the issuance of bonds or other obligations. T…

(a) Transfer of real property interests pursuant to this Act, including, but not limited to, fee estates, easements and land use rights evidenced by easements, leases and licenses, shall be filed in the form of deeds or assignments signed by I Maga’hågan/Maga’låhen Guåhan in good…

(a) Notwithstanding any of the provisions of this Act, specific legislative statutory approval shall be required prior to sale, transfer or lease of any real property assets or lands of the Guam Solid Waste Authority. Nothing herein shall be construed as such approval. (b) In add…

Internet. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Guam Solid Waste Authority shall provide that the following services be made available via the internet: (1) acceptance of online payments; (2) application for installation of new and additional services, and (3) reque…

(a) Commercial Haulers. For commercial, including multi-family dwellings and government agencies, the charge is a disposal tipping fee and does not include collection fees independently charged by commercial waste haulers. (b) Commercial and Residential Tipping Fees. All commerci…

The General Manager, after duly advertising for a request for proposals for the removal of scrap metal, shall enter into a contract with any interested business organization, either local or off-island, to collect and remove from Guam scrap metal. The successful offeror may not b…

The General Manager shall advertise for and execute such a contract every two (2) years with any qualified party on the same terms as are set out in § 51A401 of this Article. COL 2025-12-23

The Guam Solid Waste Authority shall cause an environmental impact study to be undertaken by the successful offeror prior to the issuance of a permit and the Notice to Proceed to ensure that scrap removal project will not have potential adverse ecological damage to aquifers or th…

The successful offeror shall perform all work under this Article in compliance with applicable rules and regulations of GEPA on the removal of scrap metal and hazardous waste. As a minimum, the Authority shall ensure that all successful offerors include as part of their processin…

Each successful bidder shall file a report on a quarterly basis with I Maga’hågan/Maga’låhen Guåhan, I Liheslaturan Guåhan and the Guam Solid Waste Authority outlining the following: (a) total type and amount of scrap metals, batteries and other potentially hazardous residual mat…

The Authority, in accordance with the applicable procurement laws, and after advertising for a request for proposals (RFP) for the collection of recyclable paper, shall enter into a two (2) year contract with any qualified local interested business or nonprofit organization, to a…

The Authority shall advertise for and execute such a contract every two (2) years with any qualified party on the same terms as are set out in § 51A501 of this Article.

The successful offeror shall perform all work under this Article incompliance with all applicable laws, including those of this Chapter, and rules and regulations of GEPA as may be established. As a minimum, the Authority shall ensure that all offerors include as part of their pr…

Each successful bidder shall file a report on a quarterly basis with I Maga’hågan/Maga’låhen Guåhan, I Liheslaturan Guåhan and the Guam Solid Waste Authority outlining the following: (a) total type and amount of paper recycled; (b) cost comparison of the cost of the paper-recycli…

For purposes of this Article, except as otherwise provided, the following words and phrases, together with all of the common derivatives thereof, shall have the meaning ascribed to them as follows: (a) “GEPA” means the Guam Environmental Protection Agency. COL 2025-12-23 (b) “Rec…

[Repealed.] COL 2025-12-23 SOURCE: Added by P.L. 27-037:2 (Nov. 14, 2003) as Chapter 51, Article 6 of this title. Repealed by P.L. 31-020:7 (Apr. 18, 2011) and reenacted as Article 6 of this chapter, effective 90 days from date of enactment pursuant to P.L. 31-020:13. Repealed by…