The CNMI delegation to the Territorial Climate & Infrastructure Workshop hosted by the Office of Insular Affairs in Honolulu, Hawaii from May 8 to 12.
THE CNMI through its various departments and agencies, presented its priorities in the Territorial Climate & Infrastructure Workshop that the Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs hosted in Honolulu, Hawaii from May 8 to 12.
The Office of the Governor’s senior policy advisor, Tina Sablan, headed the CNMI delegation, which also included lawmakers. She said OIA funded some travelers, and most of those who represented the participating CNMI departments and agencies had federal grant monies that included funding for travel and training.
After the presentation of the general overview of priorities and goals, the representatives of the participating jurisdictions — the CNMI, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam — participated in separate roundtable discussions with various federal agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Transportation, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Aviation Administration.
In an interview on Monday, Sablan said the federal partners of the participating departments and agencies encouraged them to participate in the workshop where there was a “high level of engagement and invaluable technical assistance” provided to participants.
Among the CNMI agencies that presented their infrastructure priorities were the Commonwealth Ports Authority, the Commonwealth Utilities Corp., the Department of Public Works, Commonwealth Office of Transit Authority, Northern Marianas College, the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp., the Department of Lands and Natural Resources, the Department of Finance, the Division of Customs and Biosecurity, the Broadband Policy & Development Program, the Office of Planning and Development and the Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality.
Sablan said they will brief Gov. Arnold I. Palacios and Lt. Gov. David M. Apatang about the four-day workshop this week.
Afterward, the special assistant for the lt. governor, Henry Hofschneider, will organize a meeting of all department and agency heads and representatives who attended the workshop to follow up on the action items, and coordinate the efforts in securing resources and ensuring progress in the implementation of the CNMI’s critical infrastructure projects.
Sablan added that there is a lot of money available to the territories through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act.
“We and our federal partners recognize that the territories face unique challenges in our capacity to pursue and manage all these funding opportunities, and to timely implement all these projects,” she said. “A major focus of the workshop was sharing information about these funding opportunities and the unique needs and priorities of the territories, and also providing the technical assistance we need to complete critical projects and meet grant requirements,” Sablan said.