H.R. 934, authored by Congressman Gregorio C. Sablan, conveys to the commonwealth the submerged lands surrounding each of the Northern Marianas out to three miles from the coastline.
In 2005, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the CNMI did not own the submerged lands. The ruling angered many people in the CNMI, who believed the court was wrong.
Correcting the submerged land problem is high on Sablan’s agenda.
The bill is moving quickly through the legislative process — it was only introduced on Feb. 10 — and was broadly supported at the hearing.
Both the chair of the subcommittee, Madeleine Z. Bordallo, D-Guam, and one of the panel’s senior Republicans, Jeff Flake of Arizona, are original co-sponsors.
At Wednesday’s hearing, Sablan, Ind.-MP, spoke about the importance of the ocean to the people of the CNMI.
“The ocean surrounding our islands has been our highway for centuries; the ocean is what brought us to our islands. It provides our people sustenance. It heals us in many ways. It is always there for recreation. It is an important part of our economy. It is our only true natural resource,” he said.
“The ocean is so important to us that our very legends are all based upon some lesson about the ocean. Our own anthem speaks about the islands in the middle of a vast ocean. Our flag is set on a field of blue that signifies the ocean. Our connection to the ocean is almost entirely encompassing,” Sablan told the audience packed in the hearing room, including 18 Close Up students from the CNMI.
He acknowledged that because of the importance of the oceans surrounding the islands it was widely believed that submerged lands rightfully belonged to the people of the Northern Marianas.
He said that control of three miles was only the first step, not the final step.
He also reminded the audience that what was important was not ownership, but rather benefiting from the ocean resources.
“I can envision a future when ownership will not be an issue because the people in our islands will have the lion’s share of all benefits from submerged lands and oceans surrounding us from as far north as Maug and as far south as Luta,” Sablan said.
Testifying before the subcommittee were the governors of American Samoa, Guam and the CNMI. All three supported Sablan’s bill.
Officials of the Western Pacific Regional Fisheries Council and the U.S. Department of the Interior also voiced support for H.R. 934 at the hearing.
