PaganWatch: JG Sablan’s permit voided

A local watchdog organization demanded yesterday that the Marianas Public Lands Authority clarify the status of the permit of JG Sablan Rock Quarry Inc. to mine Pagan pozzolan.

Citing documents it obtained by making an Open Government Act request to MPLA, PaganWatch member F. Matthew Smith said the mining permit given to JG Sablan on Sept. 8, 1995 was “either void or being voided” by Public Lands.

Either way, Smith said MPLA should immediately announce the termination of the permit and get the Pagan Task Force moving.

MPLA public information officer Ed Arriola Jr. said that the agency would defer comment on the matter until today.

According to Smith, JG Sablan’s mining permit was amended on Feb. 15, 1996 to allow MPLA to automatically terminate the permit should the company fail to generate or report any revenues from its mining activities on Pagan for two consecutive years.

Another amendment gave MPLA the authority to declare the permit void if JG Sablan violates any term or condition of the permit. MPLA can do this by following two steps: first, by giving 60 days notice to JG Sablan that it is declaring the permit void; and second, by giving JG Sablan 60 days to request a hearing on the alleged violations.

After this, MPLA may use whatever remedies are available as a result of the breach by JG Sablan.

On Feb. 19, 2004, MPLA reportedly issued a notice of violation to JG Sablan for several violations. Correspondence between MPLA and JG Sablan indicates that JG Sablan violations included: failure to submit required reports to MPLA showing the amount of materials removed from Pagan by JG Sablan; failure to obtain MPLA permission to erect structures on Pagan; failure to submit a proposal indicating how JG Sablan intended to develop pozzolan and basalt on Pagan; and failure to secure public liability insurance for its Pagan activities.

The notice was followed by a letter from MPLA counsel to JG Sablan that the permit stood to be terminated, as the mining company had not cured to violations or requested a hearing within the 60 days of receiving the notice of violation from MPLA.

Smith expressed strong belief that MPLA did terminate JG Sablan’s permit. The group quoted MPLA chairwoman Ana Demapan Castro as saying in a June 22, 2004 letter to JG Sablan’s counsel that: “The decision whether to reinstate JG Sablan’s Pagan Quarry with conditions remains a decision of the full Board.”

“Obviously, something can only be ‘reinstated’ if it has first been revoked or terminated. The conclusion being that JG Sablan’s permit was, in fact, terminated,” Smith said.

The organization further noted that the documents produced by MPLA suggest that MPLA and JG Sablan have attempted to settle this matter and have even drafted settlement agreements, which have yet to be executed because there appear to be disagreements over area, rentals, royalties and other terms of the permit.

“It is and remains the position of PaganWatch that the permit issued to JG Sablan has either been affirmatively terminated by MPLA, automatically terminated under its own terms and conditions or should be terminated for the noticed breaches of JG Sablan and the fact that the permit lacks a critical [description of the area in which JG Sablan could operate on Pagan] without which no mining activities can be or should ever have been conducted.

“What is lacking is for MPLA to make this information public in order to clarify the status of the JG Sablan permit once and for all, and to take appropriate action to evict JG Sablan from Pagan,” said Smith.

He added that MPLA should notify Coastal Resources Management of the eviction to ensure that the work sites on Pagan are cleaned up and any environmental damage is properly dealt with and mitigated.

PaganWatch also called on MPLA to start the community task force it formed in December 2004 to study pozzolanic material on Pagan.

“The purpose of the Task Force is to determine the actual quantity and quality of pozzolanic ash available on Pagan, to find a suitable investor who can extract and market the material, and to support the project by defining all requirements in advance so that investors can enjoy the full support of all stakeholders, know and meet all requirements, and find few or no obstacles to a successful project,” Smith recalled.

MPLA board member Nicolas Nekai, who was designated to head the task force, had announced that the first meeting would take place in March 2005. To date, the task force members have not been convened.

“The termination of JG Sablan’s permit and their eviction from Pagan presents the citizens of the CNMI with the opportunity to finally look at the resources of Pagan and, with the participation of all stakeholders, to determine a development strategy that will bring the best possible returns to the CNMI. It is an opportunity to ‘do it right’ so that the CNMI gets a fair share of revenues and protect Pagan’s rich cultural and natural resources as well,” Smith said. “PaganWatch calls on MPLA to immediately announce the termination of JG Sablan’s permit and to start the Task Force.”