GOVERNOR Juan N. Babauta yesterday named Joaquin D. Salas as Coastal Resources Management administrator.
Salas, however, is not new to the job, having been with the agency for about 10 years. He headed the enforcement section of CRM and became deputy administrator before assuming the acting administrator’s position last year. Babauta said his administration and CRM will work on several “broad but key issues” with the federal government and the CNMI Legislature.
He said the environment is the primary concern of the administration and “both Lt. Gov. Diego T. Benavente and I feel that there is no better person to take the task than Mr. Salas.”
Babauta said among Salas’s primary tasks at CRM is to cut through the conflicting regulations in permitting and enforcement, which “often cause bureaucratic mess and confusion.”
Babauta said there is also a need to hire personnel to perform “more technical assignments” for CRM. These include issues that deal with federal legislation, grants preparation and the review of regulations that need improvements.
According to Babauta, the administration and CRM should likewise continue their public education and awareness campaigns on environment protection and preservation.
The administration and CRM will also work with the Legislature toward the drafting of a new zoning law for Saipan, Babauta said.
