THE House Committee on Natural Resources last week unanimously approved bills that would create Marpi parks and designate land in Kagman for a transfer station facility.
Chaired by Rep. Tony Borja, the committee endorsed the passage of House Bill 21-42 and H.B. 21-90.
H.B. 21-42, which is co-authored by Reps. Roman Benavente and Sheila Babauta, proposes to impose a $5 toll fee on non-residents visiting Marpi to generate funds for the construction and maintenance of tourists sites in the northern point of Saipan.
The measure tasks the Department of Lands and Natural Resources to erect toll gates in the areas to be designated by the Department of Public Lands.
The fees will be collected from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday to Sunday, and will be remitted to Finance under the Marpi Area Toll Fee Account.
Authored by Vice Speaker Lorenzo Deleon Guerrero, H.B. 21-90 designates Lot 004-G 43 in Kagman for the Kagman Transfer Station Facility.
Deleon Guerrero said the existing transfer station in Lower Base “is bombarded with wastes from all over the island and it’s hard to transport waste at a rate that would keep up with the incoming wastes.”
This issue, he said “is extremely problematic and must be managed in an appropriate manner.”
He said residents and business owners in Kagman find it difficult to transport their wastes to Lower Base because it’s too far.
The proposed land in Kagman is located on Kagman Road just before Kagman Market.
But the committee tabled Speaker Blas Jonathan Attao’s H.B. 21-45, which would grant the Department of Public Lands secretary the authority to negotiate public land leases “pursuant to his/her fiduciary, constitutional and statutory duties.”
