BY MAUREEN N. MARATITA
Journal Staff
A Notice of Award is expected on or before April 17 for Phase 2 of construction of the divert airfield in Tinian, according to Journal files. That award will include construction of the fuel pipeline and fuel storage.
At a special meeting of the board of directors of the Commonwealth Ports Authority on April 11, two amendments to leases were placed before the board that directly relate to that award, and the second phase of construction being able to move forward.
Those attending the meeting in-person included Kimberlyn King-Hinds, chairwoman of the CPA board; Robert T. Torres, attorney and legal counsel to the board; Henry Hofschneider, special assistant to Lt. Governor David M. Apatang; and Mayor Edwin P. Aldan of Tinian.
Virtual attendees included Cmdr. Harry W. Elliott, defense coordinator for Joint Region Marianas; Steven Daugherty Sr., associate counsel for Naval Facilities Engineering and Systems Command Pacific; and Hope Marini, director of real estate and senior real estate contracting officer for NAVFAC Pacific.
Attendees first discussed an amendment to the $21.9 million Department of Defense lease signed on May 3, 2019 – officially CPA Amendment No. 1 to Lease No. N62742-19-RP-00005. That amendment would grant an easement or right of way at the Tinian seaport and at the airport, allowing the fuel pipeline to traverse those two areas of land under the authority of the CPA. The pipeline would also cross a third piece of land covered in the lease through an agreement between the NMI and the U.S. CPA environmental requirements mean that an environmental “baseline study” for the CPA land and would be used for any future study of contamination of the land.
In effect Torres said the amendment would grant rights of way for the pipeline. The need for speed did not allow for a 90-day notice period for the proposed amendment. Torres requested that in any future amendments include at least that or allow for it. He also asked that any amendments be given to CPA in a timely manner. King-Hinds noted for the record that any items related to CPA “be communicated directly to CPA so that we don’t get into these last-minute conversations with regards to amendments.”
“Obviously we understand the urgency and want to be good partners,” she said.
Elliott said he acknowledged the concerns. “… We fully acknowledge that this is not the ideal way to do business; we hear and understand the request for 90 days and our commitment to you is that we will work better. … We could have and should have done better.”
Hofschneider confirmed that any communication could be sent directly to agencies such as the CPA, and copied to the Commonwealth Bureau of Military Affairs, which is the point of contact for the U.S. Department of Defense. The lack of that protocol had contributed to a last-minute need for the board to meet and approve the amendment.
The board also discussed that its protocol has been to have public hearings, particularly in areas where there are affected populations. “However, King-Hinds said, “At this point we have a timing issue which requires that we can’t hold [the hearing]. There’s a deadline here that’s tied into their ability to move forward with the funding. … There’s significant ramifications if we don’t act today.” The board further discussed that the law had been followed through announcement of the meeting.
The board approved the lease amendment.
The second amendment before the board related to a series of agreements, beginning with the Jan. 6, 1983 Tinian Lease Agreement – made pursuant to the Covenant between the Northern Mariana Islands and the United States. That amendment is officially known as “Administrative Amendment No. 1 to the lease agreements made pursuant to the Covenant to establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in political union with the United States of America.”
At issue was land interests released by the United States in agreements subsequent to the 1983 Lease. The United States has certain reserved rights in this land. Also, the CPA received interests in ports property on Tinian as a result of United States’ releases in these agreements. While the CPA is not a party to this series of agreements, the amendment before the board sought its acquiescence since the CPA retains authority over the airport and seaport and lands to be affected by the agreement.
Torres discussed with the board this series of agreements, as well as the ramifications of the Technical Agreement between the NMI and the U.S., executed at the same time as the Covenant.
The Technical Agreement provided for the lease back of property and joint use arrangements for the harbor and port area on Tinian. However, the lease on the harbor was terminated in the 1994 amendment. Though the harbor lease was terminated in 1994, the U.S. retains the right to handle cargo, stage equipment, and other port related activities; and use the harbor as ports of entry for troops, vehicles, and equipment.
While the CPA is not a party to the technical agreement, the amendment before the board sought its acquiescence since the CPA retains authority over the airport and seaport and lands to be affected by the agreement.
Torres also pointed out that the 1975 Technical Agreement “contains several provisions for the interaction between the military and civilian populations and facilities of Tinian upon the development of the USA military interest in Tinian, including terms that touch on the airport and seaport. Many of these contain the United States commitment to infrastructure and service. The harbor is an example of that,” he said. While Torres said the 1983 lease put a hold on those provisions it was until a need was established. “Whether that need now exists or not is beyond the scope of CPA; this is between the Commonwealth and the United States,” he said. Torres suggested the board put on the record the most important commitments that have been held on pause and have not been fulfilled or released from abeyance to carry out, those being the commitments for the seaport and the airport.
Torres said that the U.S. military is aware of the CPA’s views, since the issues of commitment were raised in discussions on the divert airfield lease. He also said that the U.S. military was coming to the CPA first and that the NMI government had not yet signed the amendment. He also brought up the question of whether the CPA should conditionally approve the easement, since the NMI government had not yet approved it.
Hofschneider said he had met with the attorney general, and they had discussed the rights of the U.S. In addition, he said, the governor and the lieutenant governor “want to see this pipeline built. We believe that CPA would benefit from this – especially the airport. There’s no fuel lines going up there now.” In the long term, Hofschneider said the project could save CPA a lot of money. The issue of safety of the pipeline had been discussed with the U.S. Department of Defense he said.
Elliott said in various meetings with NMI regulatory agencies, the pipeline had been discussed in great detail. “It is to very strict and stringent standards. It is a buried pipeline; it is engineered fully acknowledging and understanding the seismic conditions that exist in Tinian, the absolute need to protect the sole-source aquifer. … most commercial vendors would not engineer to a standard that we are engineering to, but we are doing that number one, out of necessity and understanding of our commitment to the environment and number two in partnership and listening to the comments that were made during the supplemental [Environmental Impact Survey] concerning the concerns that the CNMI had.”
He also said, “I believe that we are building a true gold standard pipeline that will be something not seen before within the CNMI and not generally seen on a project of this scope anywhere. We’re doing so to be good neighbors and to ensure that we are protecting the environment.”
Other issues discussed included the ongoing lack of a Civilian Military Advisory Council, despite that being referenced in the 1975 Technical Agreement, the exact route of the pipeline and the lack of communication related to the amendment with the CPA and Aldan’s office.
Elliott again apologized and said, “The endeavor here with this document was to record what we had agreed upon through all of the [Supplementary Environmental Impact Study] processes. So the pipeline easement that is being recorded is the route that was selected in the Record of Decision; it was selected as a result of all the discussions between the CNMI and DoD on the best route for the pipeline.”
The board discussed the benefits to the CPA, national security, and lack of documentation. Torres again urged the administration and the attorney general to look at the documents. “There are legitimate language issues … and some legitimate concerns,” he said.
“…I think we’ve just to keep focused on the prize and the prize today is basically moving this forward,” King-Hinds said. The board approved acquiescence. mbj
Journal Staff
A Notice of Award is expected on or before April 17 for Phase 2 of construction of the divert airfield in Tinian, according to Journal files. That award will include construction of the fuel pipeline and fuel storage.
At a special meeting of the board of directors of the Commonwealth Ports Authority on April 11, two amendments to leases were placed before the board that directly relate to that award, and the second phase of construction being able to move forward.
Those attending the meeting in-person included Kimberlyn King-Hinds, chairwoman of the CPA board; Robert T. Torres, attorney and legal counsel to the board; Henry Hofschneider, special assistant to Lt. Governor David M. Apatang; and Mayor Edwin P. Aldan of Tinian.
Virtual attendees included Cmdr. Harry W. Elliott, defense coordinator for Joint Region Marianas; Steven Daugherty Sr., associate counsel for Naval Facilities Engineering and Systems Command Pacific; and Hope Marini, director of real estate and senior real estate contracting officer for NAVFAC Pacific.
Attendees first discussed an amendment to the $21.9 million Department of Defense lease signed on May 3, 2019 – officially CPA Amendment No. 1 to Lease No. N62742-19-RP-00005. That amendment would grant an easement or right of way at the Tinian seaport and at the airport, allowing the fuel pipeline to traverse those two areas of land under the authority of the CPA. The pipeline would also cross a third piece of land covered in the lease through an agreement between the NMI and the U.S. CPA environmental requirements mean that an environmental “baseline study” for the CPA land and would be used for any future study of contamination of the land.
In effect Torres said the amendment would grant rights of way for the pipeline. The need for speed did not allow for a 90-day notice period for the proposed amendment. Torres requested that in any future amendments include at least that or allow for it. He also asked that any amendments be given to CPA in a timely manner. King-Hinds noted for the record that any items related to CPA “be communicated directly to CPA so that we don’t get into these last-minute conversations with regards to amendments.”
“Obviously we understand the urgency and want to be good partners,” she said.
Elliott said he acknowledged the concerns. “… We fully acknowledge that this is not the ideal way to do business; we hear and understand the request for 90 days and our commitment to you is that we will work better. … We could have and should have done better.”
Hofschneider confirmed that any communication could be sent directly to agencies such as the CPA, and copied to the Commonwealth Bureau of Military Affairs, which is the point of contact for the U.S. Department of Defense. The lack of that protocol had contributed to a last-minute need for the board to meet and approve the amendment.
The board also discussed that its protocol has been to have public hearings, particularly in areas where there are affected populations. “However, King-Hinds said, “At this point we have a timing issue which requires that we can’t hold [the hearing]. There’s a deadline here that’s tied into their ability to move forward with the funding. … There’s significant ramifications if we don’t act today.” The board further discussed that the law had been followed through announcement of the meeting.
The board approved the lease amendment.
The second amendment before the board related to a series of agreements, beginning with the Jan. 6, 1983 Tinian Lease Agreement – made pursuant to the Covenant between the Northern Mariana Islands and the United States. That amendment is officially known as “Administrative Amendment No. 1 to the lease agreements made pursuant to the Covenant to establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in political union with the United States of America.”
At issue was land interests released by the United States in agreements subsequent to the 1983 Lease. The United States has certain reserved rights in this land. Also, the CPA received interests in ports property on Tinian as a result of United States’ releases in these agreements. While the CPA is not a party to this series of agreements, the amendment before the board sought its acquiescence since the CPA retains authority over the airport and seaport and lands to be affected by the agreement.
Torres discussed with the board this series of agreements, as well as the ramifications of the Technical Agreement between the NMI and the U.S., executed at the same time as the Covenant.
The Technical Agreement provided for the lease back of property and joint use arrangements for the harbor and port area on Tinian. However, the lease on the harbor was terminated in the 1994 amendment. Though the harbor lease was terminated in 1994, the U.S. retains the right to handle cargo, stage equipment, and other port related activities; and use the harbor as ports of entry for troops, vehicles, and equipment.
While the CPA is not a party to the technical agreement, the amendment before the board sought its acquiescence since the CPA retains authority over the airport and seaport and lands to be affected by the agreement.
Torres also pointed out that the 1975 Technical Agreement “contains several provisions for the interaction between the military and civilian populations and facilities of Tinian upon the development of the USA military interest in Tinian, including terms that touch on the airport and seaport. Many of these contain the United States commitment to infrastructure and service. The harbor is an example of that,” he said. While Torres said the 1983 lease put a hold on those provisions it was until a need was established. “Whether that need now exists or not is beyond the scope of CPA; this is between the Commonwealth and the United States,” he said. Torres suggested the board put on the record the most important commitments that have been held on pause and have not been fulfilled or released from abeyance to carry out, those being the commitments for the seaport and the airport.
Torres said that the U.S. military is aware of the CPA’s views, since the issues of commitment were raised in discussions on the divert airfield lease. He also said that the U.S. military was coming to the CPA first and that the NMI government had not yet signed the amendment. He also brought up the question of whether the CPA should conditionally approve the easement, since the NMI government had not yet approved it.
Hofschneider said he had met with the attorney general, and they had discussed the rights of the U.S. In addition, he said, the governor and the lieutenant governor “want to see this pipeline built. We believe that CPA would benefit from this – especially the airport. There’s no fuel lines going up there now.” In the long term, Hofschneider said the project could save CPA a lot of money. The issue of safety of the pipeline had been discussed with the U.S. Department of Defense he said.
Elliott said in various meetings with NMI regulatory agencies, the pipeline had been discussed in great detail. “It is to very strict and stringent standards. It is a buried pipeline; it is engineered fully acknowledging and understanding the seismic conditions that exist in Tinian, the absolute need to protect the sole-source aquifer. … most commercial vendors would not engineer to a standard that we are engineering to, but we are doing that number one, out of necessity and understanding of our commitment to the environment and number two in partnership and listening to the comments that were made during the supplemental [Environmental Impact Survey] concerning the concerns that the CNMI had.”
He also said, “I believe that we are building a true gold standard pipeline that will be something not seen before within the CNMI and not generally seen on a project of this scope anywhere. We’re doing so to be good neighbors and to ensure that we are protecting the environment.”
Other issues discussed included the ongoing lack of a Civilian Military Advisory Council, despite that being referenced in the 1975 Technical Agreement, the exact route of the pipeline and the lack of communication related to the amendment with the CPA and Aldan’s office.
Elliott again apologized and said, “The endeavor here with this document was to record what we had agreed upon through all of the [Supplementary Environmental Impact Study] processes. So the pipeline easement that is being recorded is the route that was selected in the Record of Decision; it was selected as a result of all the discussions between the CNMI and DoD on the best route for the pipeline.”
The board discussed the benefits to the CPA, national security, and lack of documentation. Torres again urged the administration and the attorney general to look at the documents. “There are legitimate language issues … and some legitimate concerns,” he said.
“…I think we’ve just to keep focused on the prize and the prize today is basically moving this forward,” King-Hinds said. The board approved acquiescence. mbj