Explanation of EIR is shortsighted and flawed

It is Mr. Cole’s prerogative to only call those individuals with a degree in medicine to be addressed as “doctor.” However, if he meets Dr. Condolezza Rice who possesses a Ph.D. and not an M.D., as well as being the Secretary of State for the United States, and is addressed as “Dr.” by politicians in Washington, citizens of the United States, and head of state of different countries, addressing her as “Ms. Rice” could be embarrassing for Mr. Cole.

As far as Mr. Cole’s discussion about environmental impact reports, my first point of contention with Mr. Cole’s explanation submitted to the media is that he stated that “EIR’s are only required by state and local agencies if they use federal land and funds, or if there is a state or local law that requires them.” He went on to say that “if I am a developer, I own the land and do not use federal funds and do not need to do an EIR.”

It is apparent that Mr. Cole missed entirely the point of my discussion regarding the importance and significance of an EIR. First of all, the land (at least the land above the submerged lands) throughout the several islands comprising the Commonwealth, e.g., in Pagan, is for all intents and purposes owned by the CNMI government and the indigenous peoples who reside there. The land is not owned by any developers, e.g., J.G. Sablan and Azmar Corporation, or even the U.S. government. A point to substantiate this would be the land lease arrangement between the U.S. and the Northern Marianas Islands in the Covenant agreement. The lease in the Covenant does not stipulate any “ownership” of the land on the three islands by the federal government from 1975 to 2025.

Moreover, since the land on the island of Pagan does not belong to any company/developer, e.g., J.G. Sablan and Azmar, there is absolutely no right whatsoever for these organizations to go in and do as they please.

Notwithstanding the fact the land of the NMI in places like Pagan is not federal; it is still owned by the CNMI government and should be handled accordingly. The illustration of the federally owned land was brought up as an exemplification of how government land is handled and not to imply that the land in the NMI is federal, like Mr. Cole insinuated.

Another problem with Mr. Cole’s explanation is that he used the example of public land and building a golf course on it not having any environmental impact. This is true; however, playing golf and mining are completely different and to compare the two when you are talking about environmental impact is completely irrelevant and ridiculous and is essentially comparing apples to oranges.

The MPLA is responsible for approving the leasing of public lands in the CNMI. Notwithstanding the fact the word “development” was used in my discussion of leasing land in the CNMI, the focus involved “leasing” of land that involved activity such as mining, as opposed to erecting golf courses and/or hotels.

In Mr. Cole’s letter he indicated that “mining always has a negative impact and there is no way around it; and that the restoration process should be built into the permits issued to any mining operation including the current limestone quarries on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota.” Since Mr. Cole is acknowledging the negative ramifications of mining of pozzolan and limestone, then will he concur with me that the requirement for an EIR is necessary to produce and a significant document to have in place prior to the completion of any permit process? The answer to that can be a simple yes or no.

The intent of the article I submitted to the media was to present food for thought in terms of the CNMI government and affiliated agencies to follow the same pattern in terms of the leasing of lands involving minerals. Clearly, Mr. Cole missed the message I wanted to convey to the island community, which was to bring out the importance and significance of protecting the environment when conducting any activity such as mining on Pagan.

Mr. Cole indicated in his letter to the media that “in an EIR, the negative ramifications will almost always outweigh the positive ones and that it does not consider the economic, political, or social benefits of the project.” So is Mr. Cole saying that the economic, political, and/or social benefits should take precedence over what happens to the environment? Again, the answer should be a simple yes or no.

The question I would like I pose to Mr. Cole is, “who really benefits economically and politically from a project like the one in Pagan where it has been documented that a mere 7 percent would be doled out to the CNMI island community and the bulk of the economic rewards from the pozzolan would be placed in the bank accounts of miners like J.G. Sablan and Azmar Corporation? If the PaganWatch calculator is in fact erroneous, then I would like for Mr. Cole to show me how and why it is? Perhaps this should be done in a formal debate arranged sometime in the future.

I would also like to ask Mr. Cole what “social benefits” will the people of the island community gain from the physical annihilation of the islands? An analogy to illustrate this question would be, “Could anyone enjoy a California Park like Yosemite if all the trees and surrounding lands were destroyed?

The projected economic benefits from any project may not always be a good thing except of course if all that you care about are monetary gains. To illustrate: A field in a small community that relies heavily on agriculture for employment and food is cleared for a building to be erected. The reliance on the field for employment and sustenance for the people no longer exists and the dependence on the building is all that they have. If the building cannot generate the economic rewards for the people, then the net result will be people not being able to ward off the prospect of the discontinuation of their livelihood, as well as not being able to feed their families.

Mr. Cole admits that economics and business are outside whatever field he happens to be in. If that is the case, then he should remain in whatever field he is in and not suggest that the mining of pozzolan on Pagan will be the financial panacea for the fiscal difficulties of the Babauta administration.

Moreover, to say that you need to increase revenues from mining in Pagan because the current governor has recklessly spent public funds and ran the overall deficit to a staggering $110 million is a weak argument. Repairing a government deficit at the expense of destroying the environment in the CNMI—which is not very big to begin with—is not a sensible and convincing argument.

The mining of Pagan should not be the answer to bailing out a government that is in serious fiscal trouble due to the lack of financial leadership on the part of the governor. If any mining is conducted on Pagan, the monetary benefits should go to benefit the quality of life for the island community and not line the pockets of those companies who consider themselves to be in the mining business and reside in the State of Arizona.

If an organization does not make it past the scrutiny of the MPLA, then to think there is any prospect of moving on in the process is clearly unrealistic thinking. Thus, for the Azmar Corp. to entertain the prospect of being qualified to receive a permit when they have been turned down my MPLA is the essence of “wishful thinking” on the part of all of the players who are involved with or support the organization, e.g., Dr. Thomas Arkle.

The whining about not getting the permit to mine Pagan is akin to a student who complains after being rejected for admission to Stanford University because his or her grade point average at Saipan University (a defunct university without bona fide accreditation) is far below the 3.95 that is the norm for students who apply to the prestigious private university.

Dr. Jesus D. Camacho
Delano, California