This will be part of Interior’s statement as the U.S. Congress Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs holds a legislative hearing on May 12, Washington D.C. time, on H.R. 670 — introduced by Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan — among other bills.
Sablan’s legislation conveys certain submerged lands to the CNMI to give the territory the same benefits in its submerged lands as Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa have in their submerged lands.
This will give the CNMI authority over submerged lands from mean high tide seaward to three geographical miles distant from the coastlines.
Variety obtained a copy of Interior’s testimony.
Interior would like the following amendments made, that Public Law 93-435 (48 USC 1705) is amended as follows: (a) inserting the words “Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands” after the word “Guam” wherever it appears; (b) added at the end of Section 1 (b) “(xii) any submerged lands within the Islands Unit of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument unless or until such time as the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Island enters into an agreement with the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce for the permanent protection and co-management of such portion of the Islands Unit”; and adding at the end of Section 6 “Sec. 7. All provisions of this Act that refer to ‘date of enactment,’ shall, when applicable to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, mean the date of enactment of the amendment that included the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in this Act.’ ”
Interior stated that administration would strongly support the bill if amended to address issues such as the non-inclusion of the CNMI name in all provisions where other territories were mentioned; date of enactment, and inclusion of the language in the H.R. 670 referencing the coordination of management contemplated within it prior to the transfer of the submerged lands within the Islands Unit of the monument to the CNMI.
According to Interior, “The Territorial Submerged Lands Act, which became public law in 1974, contains several sections that refer to the territories by name. H.R. 670 inserts the CNMI’s name only in section 1, but not in section 2, which reserves military rights and navigational servitudes. In order to achieve consistency, the Department recommends that the CNMI be included in all provisions of the Territorial Submerged Lands Act where other territories are named.”
The CNMI is the only territory without a title to the submerged lands in the portion of the territorial sea of the U.S. three miles from the coastlines of the three islands.
Moreover, Interior raised the issue of the language in the original act that referenced the date of enactment of HR 670 as meaning the date of enactment of the provisions of the bill. Interior recommends inclusion of the interpretation in the main statute itself rather than as part of a list of amendment or reference note.
Interior also acknowledged the creation of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument that included submerged lands and waters off Asuncion, Maug, and Uracas — the CNMI’s northernmost islands. While it was a historic achievement, Interior recognized the leaders and the people of the islands as the islands “first preservationists.”
“It is important to note that the CNMI Legislature has never taken action adverse to the preservation of these northern islands and the waters surrounding them. The people of the CNMI are well aware of their treasures. CNMI leaders consented to creation of the monument because they believed that the monument would bring federal assets for marine surveillance, protection, and enforcement to the northern islands that the CNMI cannot afford,” said Interior.
When President Bush invoked the Antiquities Act to designate the Marianas Trench including the three islands, Presidential Proclamation 8335 assigned management responsibility of the monument to the secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the secretary of Commerce.
The proclamation gave Commerce the “primary management responsibility” over fishery-related activities regulated by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 1801 et seq.).
The governor’s press secretary, Angel Demapan, welcomed Kilili’s bill.
“H.R. 670 will finally afford the people of the CNMI with the sense of equality it has pursued in an effort to seek equal footing with the coastal states and territories of the United States. Similar legislation has been introduced before in the US Congress, and Gov. Benigno R. Fitial has consistently supported the intent to give due diligence to the CNMI in terms of attaining rights to submerged lands,” said Demapan.
He told Variety that the governor would not be able to “physically testify” before the subcommittee; however, he submitted his written testimony in support of HR 670.
Meanwhile, the Friends of the Mariana Trench Monument, which had actively campaigned for the designation of the northernmost islands into a national marine monument, stated in a release that “for four years, the position of the Friends of the Mariana Trench Monument has been the submerged lands surrounding the three islands should be granted to the Northern Mariana Islands, but remain a part of the monument to be co-managed by the federal and commonwealth governments.”
The bill, introduced by Kilili is co-sponsored by 19 other lawmakers.
