Pozzolan mining not in MPLA’s agenda

A crowd of guests, lawmakers and residents sat cheek by jowl at the Marianas Public Lands Authority conference room yesterday in anticipation of the board’s discussion on the controversial pozzolan mining on Pagan. Contrary to the expectation, though, the board set aside the topic.

“It’s not in our agenda today,” said MPLA board chairperson Ana Demapan-Castro.

For his part, Arizona-based businessman Kenneth Moore, president of Azmar International and Trading Co. CNMI, said that he traveled to Saipan this week mainly to discuss the project with local authorities.

He said he also believed that the MPLA board would discuss the issue in yesterday’s meeting.

Demapan-Castro said the board would tackle the issue in its next board meeting, which may take place next month.

“The board is really pushing to put this behind us, to make a decision either to approve it or disapprove it. But as of today, we’re not going to take any action,” said the chair.

She also denied rumors that the Azmar contract “is a done deal.”

“There’s a lot of talk going on … that MPLA is doing this, doing that. I was told this morning that it’s a done deal. I don’t know anything about that,” said Demapan-Castro.

As far as Azmar is concerned, she said it has not shown that it has the financial capability to undertake the project. “As of today, we’ve not received those documents that we’ve requested. There’s nothing.”

The board earlier dared Azmar to “show us the money.”

For his part, Moore said that some financial documents were submitted yesterday “and the rest are [available but] highly confidential.”

“It’s my personal financial statement. They can be submitted as to terms and conditions of the permit,” said Moore.

Rep. Joseph Guerrero once again expressed his distaste of Moore, whom he said he had first met in 1998 when he was still the executive director of the Historical Preservation Office.

During the public comment period in yesterday’s meeting, Guerrero disclosed that after warning the MPLA board about Moore early on, he received a call from Moore’s lawyer allegedly threatening to sue him for libel.

“I was very disappointed that after I aired my opinion during the board’s meeting on Tinian, I was called by Mr. Moore’s attorney threatening me,” said Guerrero.

Guerrero also said that he has received e-mails showing Moore’s “disrespect for authorities” in the CNMI.

In an interview, Moore indicated that he would rather leave Guerrero’s issue with his lawyer.

When pressed, he said his lawyer merely contacted Guerrero “and suggested that I was quite displeased.”

“He accused me of breaking federal laws. That’s a very damaging statement,” Moore told reporters.

Guerrero, during an MPLA board meeting on Tinian a few months back, talked of what he described as a bad encounter with Moore.

He told the board “to be very cautious and careful with who you area dealing [with] here.”

He warned the board of Moore’s “empty promises.”

Guerrerro claimed that Moore violated local and federal regulations when he first came to the CNMI in the 1990s to retrieve a B-29 wreckage in the Northern Islands. Guerrero said Moore failed to honor his agreement with HPO not to move or take anything from the site.

He said that Moore took a World War II B-29 machine gun “in violation of our regulations.”

Moore came to the CNMI primarily to trace a downed WW II aircraft in Northern Islands that was piloted by his uncle.

Moore said the machine gun remains at the CNMI Museum.

Azmar spokesman Don Farrel, a CNMI historian, said Moore violated no law. “He didn’t break any law. That’s [removing the gun from the sea] is not breaking the law.”