By Noel M. Soria
Resident of Saipan
FOR months, we have watched the pillars of our economy collapse in real time. Anchor hotels have closed. Major retailers have left. Tourism — our only major industry for 40 years — can no longer carry the weight of our government’s deficit. The CNMI is now standing at a historic crossroads.
We can follow the path of obstruction and “port bans” spreading across the Pacific, or we can choose a path of Strategic Autonomy — one that uses federal law, not political slogans, to rebuild our economy. Today, I am calling on our leaders, and every candidate seeking office this November, to embrace a New Deal with the federal government through the deep‑sea mineral mandates of Public Law 119‑21.
This is not about “selling out” our environment. It is about finally cashing in on our geographic importance. For decades, the CNMI has been a spectator to its own resources. PL 119‑21 changes that. Under Section 508, the Territorial Parity provision, the CNMI is legally entitled to 37.5% of all federal mineral revenues — the same model that rebuilt the Gulf Coast under GOMESA. This is the only clear, durable path to:
– stabilizing the CUC power grid
– funding our public schools
– securing pensions
– and ending the cycle of temporary federal bailouts
But revenue alone is not the real opportunity. The true “win” lies in modernizing our infrastructure.
If the CNMI is to serve as the logistics hub for this national mandate, then the federal government must invest — immediately — in the Port of Saipan and the harbor at Tinian. These upgrades are not optional. They are the price of partnership. We should insist on world‑class port facilities capable of supporting 21st‑century industry.
This New Deal must also include telecommunications resiliency. Mineral licensing should be tied to the hardening of our fiber‑optic networks and subsea cables. Every family in the Commonwealth deserves stable, high‑speed connectivity that can withstand typhoons, cyber threats, and the demands of a modern economy.
A partnership is not a surrender. PL 119‑21 gives the CNMI real leverage—if we choose to use it. Under Section 19 of the OCSLA, the Governor has the explicit authority to negotiate directly with the Secretary of the Interior. This is our seat at the table. We must use it to determine the “where and when” of mineral activity, ensuring that traditional fishing grounds and cultural areas remain protected.
And under Section 502, we have the strongest environmental guardrail ever written into federal mineral law: a requirement for real‑time monitoring and transparency. The CNMI should demand that this oversight be led by our own local scientists, funded by federal dollars, ensuring that the health of our people and our reefs is never compromised.
To the candidates running this November:
The survival of the Commonwealth must be your central mission.
The voters are tired of “wait and see” economics. They want leadership that is willing to break from the regional blockade and negotiate a specific, high‑stakes bargain with Washington. If we provide the logistics and partnership the United States needs for national security, then we must receive the modern ports, reliable power, and resilient telecommunications our people deserve.
This will be my final contribution to this public dialogue. I extend my sincere gratitude to Marianas Variety for consistently providing space for these critical discussions. And to the readers who have followed this series: thank you. Whether we agree on the method or not, we share the same goal — a CNMI that is prosperous, self‑reliant, and respected on the global stage.
The minerals may lie in the deep sea, but our future is in our hands.
It is time for a New Deal. It is time for the CNMI to lead.
If you’d like to follow the full progression of this issue, please feel free to revisit my previously published op‑eds from the beginning of the deep‑sea mining mandate, link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Txohqoh-aEvub7-bxRDJh4SsF6oXhrAR2y5j9II7gt4/edit?usp=drivesdk
