Guam legislature calls for moratorium on deep-sea mining in Marianas region

By Pacific Island Times News Staff

Seeking a moratorium on deep-sea mining in the Marianas region, the 38^th Guam Legislature will urge the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to suspend a federal plan to lease over 35 million acres of water for mineral extraction.

“Legal and environmental experts have already submitted comments and research as to the irreparable adverse impacts of deep-sea mining and we need to do all we can as a community to ensure no further harm,” said Sen. Therese Terlaje, author of Resolution 132-38, which calls for a deep-sea mining moratorium.

The legislature is expected to adopt the resolution during its Jan. 7 session, as the comment period for the bureau’s request for information is set to expire.

Guam and CNMI residents have until Jan. 23 to submit their comments.

“Given the unprecedented risks and the absence of any benefit-sharing or mitigation, it is absolutely necessary for the legislature, on behalf of the people of Guam, to take a unified stance on deep-sea mining,” Terlaje said.

Terlaje invites fishermen, traditional and cultural practitioners, environmental advocates and all community members to testify on the resolution, which is co-sponsored by nine other senators.

“I introduced this resolution to renew and reaffirm the Guam Legislature’s call for a moratorium on deep-sea mining to protect the legal, environmental, cultural, social, and economic rights of the people of Guam,” Terlaje said.

The original deadline to submit comments was Dec. 12. The bureau granted a 30-day extension, which was short of the 120 days requested by Guam and CNMI leaders.

 “The voices of the people of Guam should always matter,” Terlaje saod. “Our waters are our way of life and the basis of our health and economy, and a disregard of our voices and input shows a great disrespect to the people of Guam as stewards of the land and sea.”

Vice Speaker Anthony Ada opposed the federal plan.

“This position is grounded in responsibility. The current process does not demonstrate that the science is sufficient, the risks are fully understood, or that our community has been meaningfully engaged,” Ada said.

“ For the people of Guam, the ocean is not something we can afford to take lightly. It is central to how we live, how we feed our families, and how we pass our culture forward,” he added.

Senators urged the public to participate in the discussion,

“Guam should never be asked to accept irreversible risk without irreversible proof, clear safeguards and genuine community consent,” Ada said.