Japan firm wants to lease 1 northern island for tsunami debris

A private Japanese firm has offered to lease one of the islands north of Saipan as a disposal and recycling site for tons of debris from the March 2011 tsunami in Japan, Rep. Froilan Tenorio (Cov-Saipan) said yesterday.

Tenorio said officials of the firm will be coming to Saipan next week to meet with Gov. Benigno R. Fitial to discuss the proposal, which could mean millions of dollars of fresh revenues for the CNMI and help Japan in its recovery.

“If the response is good, there’s a plan to charter a plane to fly to one of the islands and take a look at it. .If the deal is okay, then we’ll sign a lease,” Tenorio said in an interview after meeting with the governor yesterday afternoon.

Tenorio, a former governor and speaker, pointed out that the tsunami debris from Japan that are planned to be shipped to one of the Northern Islands are “non-toxic” and “non-radioactive” materials.

“The Japanese government will certify them that this stuff is okay. I don’t think we’ll have a problem with the local government. But where does the federal government come into the picture?” he asked.

Tenorio said in his opinion, the best island suited for such project will be Pagan, although there may be objections to it because of pozzolan on the island. Pozzolan is a siliceous volcanic ash used to produce hydraulic cement.

“We might strike a deal,” Tenorio said, referring to the possibility of requiring the company to ship pozzolan out of Pagan and sell them because it is too costly to ship them out of the island.

Tenorio said the ships will be loaded with debris coming into the Northern Islands, but they would be empty coming from the island so it might make sense for them to also ship pozzolan out of Pagan and the CNMI will have an additional revenue from this.

“The amount of the lease will depend on how long they will lease it and the size of land they need,” he said, adding that there were those offering to lease it for $10 million a year and another, $100 million.

Former Department of Public Lands secretary Oscar M. Babauta, when asked for comment, said yesterday that he was aware of such a proposal to ship solid waste from Japan to the Northern Island, when he was still with DPL.

Babauta said this could be a worthwhile undertaking but would need a lot of planning. For one, while it may not require the CNMI to spend a dollar, it might have environmental impact later on.

“It would require properly engineered containment facility, for example. And considering our location, we’re typhoon-prone and also in the ring of fire,” he told Saipan Tribune.

When the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami struck Japan, the CNMI and its residents offered to host Japanese families who may want to temporarily relocate from Japan to the CNMI. Japan is the CNMI’s major tourism market.

Tenorio said that despite the CNMI’s sympathy, it was frustrated that it was unable to be of direct assistance to Japan when the disasters struck. He said it now appears that the CNMI might have the privilege of assisting Japan in its efforts to restore its country to its former beauty.

During an interview, Tenorio said the Japanese government has been giving monies to cities to dispose of their debris. He said Japanese cities couldn’t even rebuild their areas because there’s just no place to bring the tsunami debris.

Back in October, Fitial told an economic forum of nearly 400 in Beijing, China that he is willing to lease some of the CNMI’s islands but only if it’s not for military purposes, so that the Commonwealth can provide job opportunities and improve its economy.

Fitial was making reference to the availability of mass public lands in the undeveloped and uninhabited Northern Islands.

The Northern Islands include Farallon de Medinilla, Anatahan, Sarigan, Guiguan, Alamagan, Pagan, Agrihan, Asuncion, Maug, and Farallon de Pajaros or Uracas.