NMI gears up for leaseback talks

Gov. Juan N. Babauta has appointed a five-member team to negotiate with the U.S. Navy regarding the military’s leaseback agreement with the CNMI government on almost 6,000 acres of Tinian land.

Those named to the negotiating panel are Lt. Gov. Diego T. Benavente, attorney general Pamela S. Brown or her designee, Tinian Mayor Francisco B. Borja, and Sen. Joseph M. Mendiola.

Also joining the group is a designee of the Marianas Public Lands Authority, who has the authority to access all documents and preliminary reports and analysis prepared by MPLA related to the Tinian leaseback agreement.

In a Nov. 3 memorandum, MPLA chair Ana Demapan-Castro informed Babauta that she has appointed MPLA commissioner Edward M. Deleon Guerrero to represent Public Lands in the delegation. MPLA commissioner Frank M. Eliptico was tasked to serve as an alternate in cases where Deleon Guerrero cannot participate in the discussions.

Babauta created the panel following a Sept. 8 visit by federal representatives to discuss the protocol for proceeding with the ongoing negotiation concerning the Tinian leaseback agreement.

“I have determined, after consultation with legal counsel and the Office of the Attorney General, that as the primary signatory to any extension of the leaseback agreement on behalf of the CNMI government, I have the duty and responsibility to represent the CNMI government in these negotiations,” Babauta said in a letter to Capt. David M. Boone, commander of the U.S. Naval Force Marianas.

The governor added, “I am also, however, cognizant of the fact that despite having the ultimate decision making authority in this matter, it is in the best interests of the CNMI and its people to ensure that all interested parties within the CNMI government are represented in these negotiations.”

The CNMI seeks an extension of the Tinian leaseback agreement, the initial 10-year term of which expired last Aug. 8.

Aside from the extension, the government also wants to amend some of the terms and conditions of the 1994 agreement to include other uses within the leaseback property.

Under the 1994 agreement, the CNMI government is allowed to use the leaseback properties for agricultural and grazing purposes only. However, the government now wants to use the property for commercial and other activities.

A provision in the CNMI’s Covenant with the United States allowed the U.S. military to lease 17,799 acres of land and waters on Tinian, 177 acres in Tanapag Harbor on Saipan, and the entire Farallon de Mendinilla, which has an approximate area of 206 acres.

The federal government paid a total of $19.52 million for a 50-year lease of the CNMI public lands. The lease will be effective until 2028.

In 1994, the Commonwealth and the U.S. Department of Defense signed a leaseback agreement so the Tinian government could use a portion of the public lands leased to the military.

In an August interview, MPLA deputy commissioner for Tinian Deborah Fleming said the leaseback agreement has since been amended. At present, only about 5,800 acres of land located in the middle of the Tinian remains covered by the agreement.

The Tinian legislative delegation expressed plans to construct a landfill and a wastewater treatment site, or a commercial center at the area.