Op-Ed: CNMI Deep-Sea Mining: Regulating Onshore Support to Protect Our Islands
After hearing many perspectives, I want to share my own—one that reflects both my views and the concerns of others.
King-Hinds urges deeper review, longer public input on BOEM offshore minerals interest in CNMI waters
WASHINGTON, DC — CNMI Delegate Kimberlyn King-Hinds has filed a formal public comment urging the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to slow down and more carefully structure its early-stage process examining potential commercial leasing for Outer Continental Shelf minerals offshore the Commonwealth.
Villagomez criticizes rushed comment timeline for deep-sea mining process near Marianas
SAIPAN — Angelo Villagomez, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, said a federal deep-sea mining push affecting waters tied to the Marianas is moving on a timeline that leaves the community little room to respond, with a public comment deadline falling on Monday.
OP-ED: CNMI, the Covenant, and the Myth of “Biting the Hand That Feeds Us”
For decades, too many in the CNMI have internalized a dangerous myth—that if we speak up, we are somehow “biting the hand that feeds us.” That myth has kept us silent while billion-dollar decisions are made about our seabed, our islands, and our future.
Friends of the Mariana Trench say deep-sea mining comment period disrespects Marianas communities
SAIPAN — The Friends of the Mariana Trench are criticizing the federal government’s handling of public input on a proposal to open waters off the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to potential deep-sea mining, calling the current comment schedule “rushed” and “disrespectful” to island communities.
Deep sea mining webinar set today (Dec. 2) featuring UH Mānoa’s Jeffrey Drazen
SAIPAN — A free public webinar on deep sea mining in the Pacific will be held today (Tuesday, Dec. 2) from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., featuring Dr. Jeffrey Drazen of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s Department of Oceanography, according to an event flyer.
Op-Ed: The Marianas Deserves Better Than Seabed Mining—And We Already Have a Better Path
For thousands of years, the people of the Marianas have lived surrounded by the ocean. It has provided food, culture, identity, and a connection to the wider Pacific. Our islands were built with the ocean at the center, yet after all these millennia, we are only now beginning to realize the full economic, scientific, and cultural potential of what surrounds us. This should not be a late discovery. It should have been leveraged and positioned as a core foundation for prosperity generations ago.
Sheila Babauta urges extension, public hearings as CNMI faces deep-sea mining comment deadline
SAIPAN – Sheila Babauta of Friends of the Mariana Trench told Good Morning Marianas that federal officials should extend the public comment period and hold public hearings in the CNMI following a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management request for information related to deep-sea mining.
Community Conversation on Deep Sea Mining in the CNMI set for Dec. 3
SAIPAN – Northern Marianas College will host a community conversation on “Deep Sea Mining in the CNMI” on Wednesday, Dec. 3, at the American Memorial Park Indoor Theater from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Apatang urges CNMI public to comment on federal seabed mineral leasing RFI
SAIPAN — Governor David M. Apatang is urging residents, community groups, and government agencies to submit comments on a new federal request for information that could lead to seabed mineral leasing offshore the Commonwealth.
