MPLA grabs headline after headline in 2004

From relative obscurity, the Marianas Public Lands Authority grabbed the headlines in 2004 as it faced one tough decision after another.

Throughout the year, every action by the MPLA board of directors became subject to strict scrutiny, particularly when it involved the mining of Pagan pozzolan, the suspension and subsequent termination of former commissioner Henry Hofschneider, and most recently, land compensation payments.

Azmar International, owned by Arizona-based businessman Kenneth Moore, submitted a proposal to extract pozzolanic ash from Pagan several years ago. This year, the company stepped up its efforts to follow up on the proposal with MPLA.

Azmar’s plan was met with mixed reactions from the CNMI community. Some, including a number of senators, expressed their support while others formed a watchdog group to openly and collectively voice their opposition.

The investor and its backers highlighted the economic gains that the Commonwealth stood to reap from the export of Pagan pozzolan. PaganWatch maintained that Azmar was just not the right investor because the company, they said, did not have sufficient resources and an extensive plan to sustain the project and ensure Pagan’s environmental well being.

Ultimately, however, the decision was for the MPLA board of directors to make.

Citing uncertainties about Azmar’s qualifications and proposal, the MPLA management recommended on Aug. 13 that the board suspend all existing negotiations on Pagan mining and put out instead a request for proposals from all interested investors.

The board responded three days later by giving Azmar 60 days to submit documents that will prove its financial capability.

Despite Azmar’s failure to provide most of the required documents, the MPLA board decided on Nov. 16 to open 15 days of confidential bargaining talks with Azmar for a conditional mining permit.

Even the secret negotiations, however, failed to broker an agreement between MPLA and Azmar. On Dec. 3, the board voted unanimously to reject Azmar’s application for a mining permit.

MPLA also faced at least two major lawsuits in 2004.

One concerned MPLA chair Ana Demapan-Castro’s unilateral decision to suspend and subsequently terminate former commissioner Henry Hofschneider over insubordination allegations—a move that also sparked fighting among the board members.

Nevertheless, reconciliation seems to have come, at least within the MPLA board, before the year drew to a close. Last Wednesday, the board confirmed Demapan-Castro’s appointment of Edward Deleon Guerrero as Hofschneider’s replacement, and thereby, recognized the chair’s power to hire and fire MPLA personnel.

The other lawsuit, filed by the Attorney General’s Office, related to the board’s decision to award $3.45 million in land compensation to the former owners of the 6,900-sq.m. Marianas High School property.

The expensive lawsuit however ended outside of the legal arena, with Finance Secretary Fermin Atalig deciding to revoke his signature on the drawdown request to pay the Malite Estate.

Meanwhile, many other landowners are still awaiting their compensation.

Gov. Juan N. Babauta recently made efforts to get involved agencies acting on land compensation. In September, Babauta signed a law giving equal treatment to all private landowners whose property was taken by government for construction of public facilities. On Monday, he instructed MPLA to resolve issues obstructing the release of funds to land claimants.

How these efforts will impact the entire land compensation process remains to be seen. For the meantime, claimants have no choice but do what they always have: hope and wait.