MPLA seeks extension of land leaseback on Tinian

The Marianas Public Lands Authority is asking the federal government for a temporary extension of their leaseback agreement on about 5,800 acres of land on Tinian.

According to acting MPLA commissioner Frank Eliptico, the extension would give the authority and other CNMI government agencies time to draft a final proposal for the renewal of the agreement.

Executed on Aug. 8, 1994, the leaseback and disposal agreement between the United States and the CNMI is set to expire tomorrow.

“Although preliminary—albeit significant—discussion and groundwork have taken place among various local agencies and officials concerning the renewal of the [leaseback] agreement, we are currently still in the process of developing a formal proposal for your review and consideration so that we may obtain the United States’ prior, written approval for the extension,” Eliptico said in an Aug. 3 letter to Commander Edward J. Lynch of the U.S. Naval Forces Marianas.

The proposal, he added, will identify the CNMI’s proposed land use activities for the affected areas during the renewal period.

“While we are working to finalize this proposal [which is anticipated to be completed within the next 60 days], we are hereby seeking [an]…extension of the current agreement to the same terms and conditions, until a formal, long-term renewal agreement is negotiated and executed,” Eliptico told Lynch.

If the military agrees, MPLA would remit the rental for the short-term extension to the commander in chief of the U.S. Naval Forces’ Pacific Command, which is based on Guam.

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.

Deborah Fleming, MPLA deputy commissioner for Tinian, 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.

Fleming also said that the Tinian government would like to renew the leaseback agreement, but with some changes in its terms and conditions. One of the government’s major concerns is the type of activities that can be done on the property.

“Right now, only grazing is allowed on the leaseback lands. The government wants the new agreement to allow more activities, such as the construction of a landfill and a wastewater treatment site, or a commercial center—something that will boost tourism,” Fleming said. “We are looking into that.”