Governors of Guam and NMI take action after Journal deep sea mining story appears
BY MAUREEN N. MARATITA
Journal Staff
A Journal exclusive on plans for deep sea mining in the waters of the Mariana Islands, propelled Gov. Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero and Gov. David M. Atapang into action.
Leon-GuerreroAccording to Carlotta A. Leon-Guerrero, chief advisor for military and regional affairs in the Office of the Governor of Guam, who spoke with the Journal on Nov. 20, Gov. Leon Guerrero then reached out to Atapang to express her concern.
Leon-Guerrero said, “Upon learning about the RFI that was issued for the CNMI, Governor Leon Guerrero placed a call to Governor Aptatang, to discuss the matter … They agreed this was going to be an issue they wanted to work on together.”
The pair decided the first thing to do was ask for an extension on the comment period. “By the time Guam and the CNMI found out about it, it was already four days into a 30-day comment period.”
She said, “The very first step they took was to write a letter to the Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management, asking for an extension.” That letter — shared with the Journal by the Office of the Governor of Guam — was sent to Matthew Giacona, acting director of BOEM, on Nov. 15, pointing out that there was insufficient time “for both of our island governments and our shared regional stakeholders to provide comprehensive and informed feedback on a matter with wide-ranging environmental, economic, cultural, and jurisdictional implications.”
The letter also pointed out that, “The RFI area directly affects both the CNMI and Guam. As BOEM’s notice states, “the Southern boundary of the RFI is approximately equal distance between the islands of Guam and Rota, the Southernmost island of the CNMI.”
Additionally, the letter said, “This request is fully consistent with federal law and policy requiring meaningful intergovernmental consultation,” referring to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act obligating BOEM “to consider the interests of adjacent coastal states and territories when evaluating off-shore leasing programs.”
The letter was copied to the two delegates to Congress, the Secretary of the Department of the Interior and two officials at the Office of Insular and International Affairs at DOI.
In the event an extension is not granted, Leon-Guerrero said, “We’re trying to get as many stakeholders — as many eyes as possible on this situation — community groups, environmental groups to respond. Hopefully we’ll get the extension but if not, we’ve got to act as if we have to respond during this 30-day window.” Both teams in Guam and the NMI planned to also get the information out through releases, she said.
The NMI reached out to BOEM for further information, which resulted in a virtual meeting set for Nov. 25. The NMI requested that Guam attend also. “We’ve sent that to all of our key agencies … and told them to also be prepared to make comments within the 30-day period.”
Leon-Guerrero said, “When you look at it — anything that you do along this kind of exploration endeavor — it’s going to affect Guam. It’s just the nature of our shared environment, our shared culture, our shared waters. We feel very strongly to support the CNMI, but we’re also entirely conscious that Guam might get its own RFI issued for leasing of Guam waters.”
NOAA has various vessels that have come to Guam for research and use the island as a starting point for Pacific expeditions. In 2012 James Cameron famously descended seven miles to the floor of Marianas Trench’s Challenger Deep in a submersible.
Leon-Guerrero said such crews and teams typically make a courtesy call on the governor. “We’ve gone out there to meet these underwater scientists; some of them have been from Micronesia, as well as other well-known scientists.”
She said the news has spurred a different perspective. “It’s part of the governor’s awakening … of the resources around us that are underwater. For the most part we’ve concentrated on what’s above the water.” Aside from the island’s relationship with the U.S. military and military construction, she said, “Our geographic location is also important … for tourism development for all these other reasons, so we’ve concentrated above water for the longest time. Now we’re having to consider ocean resources; mineral resources. That’s a new frontier for many, many islanders.”
A report from the International Sea Bead Authority will be released this year or early next year regarding potential impacts to the environment and ecosystem. Photo by Skyler Obispo
As far as potential damage to fishing or water quality accompanying deep sea mining endeavors, Leon-Guerrero said a report from the International Sea Bed Authority will be released this year or early next year. “The International Sea Authority has been working for decades on creating the mining code for ocean exploration and exploitation of seabed minerals. That is imminent — 119 countries have been working for decades on this. In my opinion, the smart move is to wait till this is done to see how you can responsibly, ethically and environmentally endeavor to mine sea minerals.”
The concern is not only at the speed of the process, she said, but “how an RFI got issued for CNMI waters and the CNMI wasn’t notified, and Guam wasn’t notified about it either. That’s the sort of thing that is very concerning to us — the speed at which it is moving ahead, and the lack of engagement with the leaders of the Marianas.”
King-HindsKimberlyn King-Hinds, the delegate to Congress for the Northern Mariana Islands, told the Journal in an emailed statement on Nov. 12, "I appreciate the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s publication of this Request for Information and Interest as an early step in evaluating potential mineral leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf offshore the CNMI.”
She said the notice marked the beginning of a multi-stage process under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and that no determination has been made regarding whether leasing will occur.
“At this preliminary stage, my interest is in ensuring that the process moves forward with full transparency, community awareness, and opportunities for meaningful public participation at every phase,” King-Hinds said.
“I encourage BOEM to work closely with the CNMI government and stakeholders and to provide accessible venues for public input in the islands, including informational sessions that explain the OCS leasing framework and its potential implications for local communities, natural resources, and cultural heritage. Every effort should be made to engage with the local communities, the fishing and tourism sectors, and local environmental organizations,” she said.
King-Hinds also said that the people of the NMI “have a direct and enduring interest in the stewardship of surrounding waters. Broad and inclusive consultation will strengthen both the credibility and the quality of information BOEM receives as it considers whether to proceed to subsequent steps in this process.
“This is an opportunity for the people of the CNMI to comment on this Request for Information and I look forward to hearing from the community's thoughts as well and the direction the Commonwealth wishes to take." mbj
– This is a developing story. Sign up for Journal news alerts at www.mbjguam.com
The groundbreaking and demolition for the new Simon Sanchez Highschool campus has been delayed following a procurement protest filed by General Pacific Services.
