‘Legit route to mining permit is via task force’

Although it supports and encourages the interest shown by Bridgecreek International in mining pozzolan from Pagan, local CNMI watchdog group PaganWatch said it neither endorses Bridgecreek nor its joint venture with J.G. Sablan.

In a statement issued yesterday, PaganWatch said it would not endorse the bid of any company that does not go through the community task force on mining that the Marianas Public Land Agency agreed to form and that the Governor’s MPLA Transition Team recommended be activated immediately.

PaganWatch co-founder Peter J. Perez said some confusion might have been caused by what he described as a “misquote” in a newspaper interview that he had concerning the California-based real estate development firm.

“My reasons for considering Bridgecreek to be a credible investor were misunderstood to be an endorsement in a recent interview with the Saipan Tribune,” said Perez. “My actual words were ‘Bridgecreek is credible as a potential investor in that it is an established company with verifiable financial assets. …Depending upon how much investment commitment could be verified, they could well be a strong contender.'”

PaganWatch said it encourages the interest shown Bridgecreek and other investors but this does not mean an endorsement of Bridgecreek nor its joint venture with J.G. Sablan.

“The only legitimate route to a mining permit is via the task force. There are currently no valid permits to mine Pagan and the J.G. Sablan permit is no exception,” Perez said.

The watchdog group also expressed concern over recent statements to the media by J.G. Sablan Rock Quarry Inc. president John T. Sablan—statements that it feels are incorrect and or misleading.

Perez said that, based on information obtained from MPLA by PaganWatch through the Open Government Act, John Sablan’s claim that he has held a valid permit since 1995 is incorrect.

PaganWatch insists that the permit “is void in multiple ways by its own terms, including automatic termination when J.G. Sablan failed to generate and/or report any revenue to the government from its activities on the premises for two consecutive years.”

Further, the watchdog group alleges that there were numerous violations of the permit terms including:

* failure to pay at least $483,637.56 in rental and royalties due by J.G. Sablan for Pagan mining;

* failure to submit required reports to MPLA showing the amount of materials removed from Pagan by J.G. Sablan;

* failure to obtain MPLA permission to erect structures on Pagan;

* failure to submit a proposal indicating how J.G. Sablan intended to develop pozzolan and basalt on Pagan; and

* failure to secure public liability insurance for its Pagan operations.

PaganWatch claims that J.G. Sablan failed to cure the violations or request a hearing within 60 days of receiving a Notice of Violation from MPLA for the above and says that this was cause for termination of the permit.

“On June 22, 2004, MPLA chairwoman Ana Demapan Castro herself confirmed that the permit of J.G. Sablan had been terminated when she stated in a letter to counsel for J.G. Sablan that: ‘The decision whether to reinstate JG Sablan’s Pagan Quarry with conditions remains a decision of the full Board,’” Perez said.

He also objected to John Sablan’s statement that his annual rental fees for the permitted mining areas are current.

“Mr. Sablan claims that to date he has paid over $200,000 to MPLA. In fact, J.G. Sablan is on its third permit to mine Pagan. At the time the latest permit was issued in 1995, the company was already in arrears by over $2.75 million in unpaid fees, rentals, revenues and interest, according to the Office of the Public Auditor. Of this, $192,000 was unpaid Pagan royalties. Since 1995, by the terms of the current permit, J.G. Sablan should have been paying $20,000 per year in permit fees plus royalties on any pozzolan extracted. That is an additional minimum $220,000 owed for Pagan permit fees alone. His claim to have benefited the CNMI by paying $200,000 when in fact he failed to pay millions and deprived the CNMI of Pagan mining revenues for over 15 years is preposterous,” Perez said.

PaganWatch called on local lawmakers to end the attempt by J.G. Sablan to involve a potential investor in any schemes based on the J.G. Sablan permit.

“Once again we see potential investors being led down the garden path with promises of easy riches that will only cause them to lose money and further damage our own reputation. We have a chance here to demonstrate that the CNMI can be a worthy partner to investors by providing clear requirements to all interested investors, securing bids based on a realistic and community-backed requirements and supporting investors every step of the way,” Perez added.