By Moneth G. Deposa
Variety News Staff

THE lawyer for JG Sablan Rock & Quarry, which was issued the permit to mine pozzolan in Pagan, believes that the dispute between his client and the government is not nearing an end based on the status of the case.
Michael Dotts, lawyer for John T. Sablan, said they are still waiting for the court’s decision on the several motions they presented last year.
“Arguments on several motions were presented to Judge (David) Wiseman in November and the parties are waiting for a decision,” Dotts said in an e-mail. “The motions may not fully resolve the dispute. The decision on the motions may only be to set a briefing schedule for further proceedings.”
Dotts added, however, that Wiseman has indicated he will move the case quickly.
According to Dotts, when the dispute is finally decided in Superior Court, it is likely that whoever loses will appeal.
“An appeal normally takes a couple of years and the result of the appeal could be to send the matter back to the Superior Court for more proceedings…meaning it will take even more time to resolve,” Dott said, adding that “there is no end in sight to the litigation which is very unfortunate for all concerned.”
The CNMI government sued JG Sablan in August after its permit, which was terminated by the Department of Public Lands in May, was reinstated by the Legislature in September.
The lawmakers overrode the governor’s veto on Senate Bill 15-45 which is now Public Law 15-21, reinstating Sablan’s permit to mine pozzolan.
Citing the islands’ deepening economic slump, Vice Speaker Justo A. Quitugua, D-Saipan, believes that it is time for the administration to look seriously into the pozzolan issue.
“We need to convince the governor to take a serious look at pozzolan because this will be a good source of revenue for the government. The CNMI needs to take advantage of the natural resources we have because, if not…we will be waiting for nothing,” he said, adding that pozzolan materials on Pagan are diminishing over time.
The Legislature earlier found that JG Sablan has a valid mining permit which was issued on Sept. 8, 1995.
According to lawmakers, the company has been generating revenue for the government through payment of annual permit fees and that JG Sablan is current in its payment of fees, in contrast to the claim of Department of Public Lands when it terminated its permit in May last year.