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JG Sablan appeals permit application
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Posted on Jun 04 2006
JG Sablan Rock Quarry Inc. is appealing the termination of its 1995 permit to mine Pagan pozzolan.
Attorney Michael W. Dotts, counsel for JG Sablan, said the permit was terminated without due process. He added that the alleged violations used as basis for the termination of the permit either did not exist or had been waived by the predecessor of the Department of Public Lands, the Marianas Public Lands Authority.
“Just because the individuals that are running the Department of Public Lands now do not like the decisions made before, that agency does not have the right to reverse prior decisions,” Dotts told Public Lands Secretary John S. Del Rosario Jr. in a letter sent Thursday.
Dotts also maintained that the government had violated an article of the mining permit by failing to give notice and allow JG Sablan to correct its alleged default.
“That opportunity has not been afforded and until it is afforded, the government has no right to terminate the permit,” he said.
He also asked the Department of Public Lands to conduct an administrative hearing on the appeal.
DPL terminated JG Sablan’s 1995 mining permit on May 3, 2006 based on violations such as:
• Failure to generate any revenue for the CNMI for two consecutive years after the 1995 permit issuance, as provided in Article 3 of the permit;
• Failure to provide the government within 180 days after issuance of the permit of a detailed proposal on how it intends to develop pozzolan and basalt recovery, as provided in Article 10;
• Failure to get a prior consent from the government when it entered into a joint partnership agreement with Bridgecreek International on Dec. 3, 2005, as provided in Article 14;
• Violation of Article 1 of the permit by operating outside the designated area;
• Failure to pay royalties and other payments under an earlier permit in 1993, now totaling $345,914; and
• Failure of the company to clearly implement the 1995 permit for more than nine years.
The Fitial administration has formed a task force conduct a feasibility study and to draft a request for proposals from investors interested in a Pagan mining contract.
