TWELVE members of the House of Representatives have introduced a measure that seeks to restore to the Department of Land and Natural Resources the administration and management of submerged lands.
Rep. Arnold I. Palacios, H.B. 13-105’s principal author, said the management of submerged lands, which is presently under the Marianas Public Lands Authority, should return to the DLNR “since this was what the CNMI Constitution mandates. “
“This is what I’ve been fighting for when I was director of the Division of Fish and Wildlife. For unknown reasons, the 12th Legislature transferred the management of submerged lands to MPLA. But I believe that submerged lands should be under the department. DLNR would not be able to fulfill its mandate under the Constitution if it would not have authority over these lands,” said Palacios, R-Saipan and chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Under Article 14 of the CNMI Constitution, DLNR has the responsibility of protecting and preserving the commonwealth’s marine resources. Until the enactment of Public Laws 12-33 and 12-71, the Legislature assigned the administration and management of submerged lands to the department.
The reassignment of such responsibility according to Palacios, “has impaired” DLNR’s function of protecting marine resources.
Under the bill, the DLNR secretary will be responsible for the “management, use and disposition of submerged lands of the commonwealth.”
He will also be given the following powers and duties: grant exploration licenses and development leases on petroleum deposits or other mineral deposits which may be located in submerged lands, issue permits for the purpose of extracting mineral deposits, grant development leases for water and non-water dependent uses of submerged lands, consider the natural values of the lands prior to issuing any initial lease or authorizing any change in its use and adopt rules and regulations for qualifications, terms and conditions on exploration licenses, leases and permits for extraction.
The 11 lawmakers who co-authored the bill are House Speaker Heinz S. Hofschneider, R-Saipan; House Vice Speaker Manuel A. Tenorio, R-Saipan; House Floor Leader Jesus T. Attao, R-Saipan; Francisco DLG. Aldan, R-Saipan; Gloria DLC. Cabrera, R-Saipan; Pedro P. Castro, R-Saipan; Herman T. Palacios, R-Saipan; Andrew S. Salas, R-Saipan; Benjamin B. Seman, R-Saipan; Ramon A. Tebuteb, R-Saipan; and Stanley T. Torres, R-Saipan.
