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House calls on permitting agencies to shed light on Marpi land clearing
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Posted on May 15 2009
The chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, Rep. Ray A. Tebuteb, has called on all local environmental regulatory and permitting agencies to shed light on the ongoing Marpi land clearing, which Rep. Tina Sablan says is a plain violation of Coastal Resources Management regulations because of a lack of a major siting permit.
Tebuteb said yesterday he has asked officials from CRM, the Division of Environmental Quality, the Department of Lands and Natural Resources main office, the Division of Fish and Wildlife, the Historic Preservation Office, and the Saipan Zoning Office to brief the committee about the Marpi project.
The briefing is set for Monday, 9:30am, in the House chamber on Capital Hill.
“We want the permitting agencies to update us on the Marpi project. What’s going on in there? We will ask about the permits issued or not issued because there are a lot of concerns about that,” Tebuteb said in a telephone interview.
Some 62 hectares of land in Marpi are being cleared of unexploded World War II ordnance, using U.S. Environmental Protection Agency brownfields funding granted to the Department of Public Lands.
Tebuteb said the committee hopes to get a better understanding of the issues once all permitting agencies are in one room to answer questions.
Members of the community have raised concerns about the scenic area’s development into a homestead subdivision while others questioned the lack of permits and lack of public hearing before the actual clearing began.
DPL Secretary John Del Rosario said once the area is cleared of war ordnance—which he said is far from over—then that’s the time they will decide what to do with the area, with input from the community. He added that nobody has been promised a homestead lot in Marpi.
On Monday, Rep. Tina Sablan asked CRM to issue an immediate stop-work order on the ongoing clearing until formal public hearings have been conducted and until a major siting permit has been duly issued.
Sablan said the project “is proceeding in plain violation of CRM regulations” because of a lack of a major siting permit.
