By Emmanuel T. Erediano
emmanuel@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
THE members of the 24th House of Representatives doubt whether the CNMI will receive a fair share of the economic benefits from seabed mining and are demanding respect for the authority of the Commonwealth and the rights of its people.
In a joint response on Monday to the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s request for information and interest, or RFI, all 20 House members emphasized that the CNMI “is a self-governing U.S. jurisdiction whose people, including Chamorro and Refaluwasch Indigenous communities, have deep, longstanding cultural, economic, and spiritual connection to the surrounding ocean.”
On Nov. 12, 2025, BOEM published in the Federal Register an RFI for “Commercial Leasing for Outer Continental Shelf Minerals Offshore the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.”
The CNMI lawmakers said they recognize the federal government’s interest in securing critical mineral supplies and advancing national economic and security objectives, but they emphasized that any such activities in the CNMI offshore area directly implicate the rights, interests, and well-being of its people.
They take the position that, under current federal law and policy, “there is no clear, guaranteed framework” to ensure the CNMI’s fair share of the economic benefits of OCS mineral leasing — including bonus bids, rentals, or royalties — and that the environmental, cultural, and socio-economic risks and potential harms from seabed mineral exploration and mining in the CNMI offshore area would be borne locally by CNMI communities, ecosystems, and future generations.
The House members also said BOEM’s existing consultation framework “does not provide the CNMI with a clear, legally recognized consent authority or veto over leasing decisions that may significantly affect our territory and people.”
“In light of global and Pacific experience with similar extractive and strategic projects, and in light of the current legal framework, we cannot assume that a seabed mineral leasing regime framed as serving U.S. ‘national interest’ or ‘energy emergency’ needs will automatically benefit our islands. Absent meaningful reforms that guarantee territorial consent, equitable revenue-sharing, strong environmental and cultural protections, and tangible local benefits, we cannot conclude that the contemplated leasing regime would provide a net benefit to the CNMI. We therefore submit the following specific comments and requests,” the CNMI lawmakers said.
They also urged Interior and BOEM “to recognize, in policy and in any future program decisions, that no commercial seabed mineral leasing or mining should proceed offshore the CNMI without the clear, informed, and freely given support of the Commonwealth’s elected leadership and Indigenous communities.”
Specifically, the lawmakers are requesting that BOEM acknowledge in its record that, under existing law, territorial revenue-sharing for OCS critical-mineral leasing is unclear and inadequate, and recommend to the U.S. Congress that it establish a statutory revenue-sharing formula for territorial OCS mineral leasing that, at a minimum, provides a substantial portion of all bonus bids, rentals, and royalties to the CNMI government for investment in infrastructure, education, climate resilience, environmental stewardship, and Indigenous cultural programs.
“Any future leasing program that does not guarantee significant, predictable revenue streams for the CNMI will be perceived as transferring our natural wealth offshore without fair compensation,” the CNMI House members said.
“The people of the CNMI understand the importance of strategic resources, national security, and economic development. We also understand, perhaps more acutely than distant decision-makers, the consequences when external interests extract value from our environment without leaving our communities better off or fully respecting our rights and our way of life,” they added.
Emmanuel “Arnold” Erediano has a bachelor of science degree in Journalism. He started his career as police beat reporter. Loves to cook. Eats death threats for breakfast.
