Petition asks to suspend Pagan mining

Northern Island residents have began a petition that calls on the Senate to immediately pass a bill suspending mining activities on Mt. Pagan.

The group, represented by Cinta Kaipat, asked the upper chamber to pass House Bill 14-204, titled Pozzolan Extraction Act of 2004, which was recently introduced and passed in the House of Representatives.

“For many reasons, HB 14-204 is our bill. It protects our Pagan, our island, our home. But it is also a bill for all of the CNMI,” said the group.

The bill, authored by House Speaker Benigno R. Fitial, aims to suspend any new pozzolan mining activity on Mt. Pagan for lack of a comprehensive study. It said that a comprehensive assessment of pozzolan mineral extraction will ensure that the Commonwealth will receive a fair share of the revenue from the activity and that the potential risks to the environment posed by the mining will be reduced, if not eliminated.

Kaipat’s group said that surface mining more than 20 percent Pagan’s land mass, “with its potential environmental and social impact, is not to be rushed into.”

The group cited a report identifying more than 200 million tons of high-grade pozzolan on Pagan, believed to be worth $45 to $70 per ton at today’s prices.

“No one knows the true market value,” said the group, but noted that “this is not a matter of a few thousand dollars. This is potentially a matter of billions of dollars.”

The petition has reportedly been signed by some 40 people.

It said that the bill does not block mining pozzolan; it merely provides for a short period of time to verify the quality and quantity of pozzolan and investigate its marketability.

The bill, which also calls for the creation of a task force, wants the task force to determine the qualification requirement of persons and companies applying for permits to extract pozzolan, set permitting procedures, set a fee and royalty schedule, and ascertain potential risks to the environment for mitigation.

“The CNMI risks nothing by allowing a short period of time to protect our resource, its value, and our environment…We have nothing to lose but 90 days by educating ourselves about this tremendously valuable resource,” said the group. “We will never have another opportunity like this one. We will never have another Pagan.”