Cohen asked to intervene in pozzolan deal

Left out of the negotiations between the Marianas Public Lands Authority and the firm seeking to mine Pagan pozzolan, the watchdog group PaganWatch has turned to the federal government for help in stopping the talks.

PaganWatch leaders Cinta Kaipat and Peter J. Pangelinan Perez wrote U.S. Interior’s deputy assistant secretary for insular affairs David Cohen, asking the federal official to step in and influence MPLA to allow indigenous representation on the decision to mine Pagan.

In the letter, PaganWatch said MPLA has repeatedly refused to allow either the Pagan residents or the greater CNMI community to participate in the decision as to whether or not to allow Azmar International to mine their island.

“MPLA has made it clear that the decision of whether or not to issue a mining permit and the terms of the permit rests solely with them and that the indigenous people who own the land have no say in the matter.

“They do not allow us to see any documents, nor to know the terms discussed. Their meetings with Azmar take place behind close doors. Although the doors are closed to us, they are open to Azmar supporters,” PaganWatch said.

According to the group, these supporters include Senate members who held meetings with Azmar president Kenneth Moore in Arizona and at Sen. Luis Crisostimo’s home on Saipan.

PaganWatch also decried the local government’s alleged unwillingness to stop MPLA from entering into a 15-day period of secret negotiations with Azmar International.

“We now recognize that undue pressure and manipulation is occurring at MPLA as a result of many political and personal relationships between board members and Azmar supporters. It appears that nothing we do at a local level is going to make any difference. So must look outside our local government for help,” PaganWatch said.

Further, the group stressed that its members do not have the extensive time and money to fight Azmar in federal court, noting the possibility that the matter would come to that level. “We hope that by your intervention and influence the obvious unethical and illegal action of exclusion by MPLA can be stopped,” the group said.

Asked for his comment, MPLA commissioner Edward Deleon Guerrero said the agency will issue a statement today to clarify issues around the confidentiality agreement it executed with Azmar.

The agreement was made on Nov. 16 when, despite Azmar’s failure to turn in majority of the documents it had earlier been required to submit, the MPLA board of directors authorized the staff to initiate talks using a draft conditional mining permit.

In its letter, PaganWatch reiterated that Pagan mining would result in adverse impact to the island’s environment.

“If Pagan is turned over for mining, there is little doubt that it means the end of the simple life that the residents of Pagan love and cherish. Because the permit requestor has no mining experience, and no secure funding for the project, there is great risk of significant and permanent harm to the land and surrounding waters as well,” the group said.

PaganWatch said the terms under which MPLA is currently considering Azmar’s mining permit would not benefit the Commonwealth even from an economic perspective.

“We have learned that the permit would send windfall profits from mining outside the region. The profit split gives only 7 percent of the revenues to the CNMI in return for strip-mining our island of 200 million tons of pozzolan worth between $50 and $100 per ton at today’s services and potentially much more in the future due to anticipated scarcity of pozzolan worldwide. Potentially billions [are] at risk!” PaganWatch said.