The Guam Bureau of Statistics and Plans’ (BSP) Guam Coastal Management Program (GCMP) has objected to a US federal determination that issuing mineral leases across approximately 27.18 million hectares surrounding the Marianas will have no negative effect on Guam’s coast, Guam’s Pacific Daily News reports.
On 16 July, the Marine Minerals Administration (MMA), formerly the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), issued a negative determination asserting that the proposed lease sales will not affect Guam’s coastal zone.
The US Government intends to hold an oral auction sale in Camarillo, California, in December to award 20-year mineral leases across two offshore areas.
The proposal encompasses an approximately 14.37-million-hectare zone east of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) — located 204.39km from Guam at its closest point — and a roughly 13.6-million-hectare zone west of the CNMI, positioned 74.03km from Guam.
MMA intends to issue up to six commercial leases, dividing three to the east and three to the west, allowing leaseholders to identify deep-sea mineral deposits and seek exploration permits.
In an interview with Pacific Daily News, GCMP Federal Actions Planner Julian Janssen said the bureau rejected the negative determination because offshore mineral operations will affect Guam’s coast.
“Vessels involved in mineral operations will probably come through Guam’s port,” Janssen noted. “That’s going to have some level of effect.”
BSP requests “immediate withdrawal” of negative determination
In a letter dated 30 September addressed to MMA Pacific Outer Continental Shelf Regional Director Douglas Boren, BSP requested the immediate withdrawal of the negative determination, stating MMA must submit a formal consistency determination with supporting data if it intends to proceed.
BSP highlighted in the letter that MMA’s environmental review expects up to 156 vessel trips over five years in the eastern lease zone, encompassing 14.37 million hectares; and up to 191 trips over six years in the western lease zone, spanning 13.6 million hectares.
BSP noted that vessel traffic through Guam’s port facilities will contribute secondary emissions to areas near the port, including the Piti Power Plant and Tanguisson Power Plant areas, which are designated nonattainment areas for sulphur dioxide pollution by the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Water quality concerns were also raised regarding routine discharges and sediment transport. The Guam Department of Agriculture stated on 30 September that MMA’s conclusions regarding sediment dispersal and disruptions to the deep-sea food chain are premature, requesting further cumulative impact evaluations.
The department added that offshore exploration could disrupt pelagic fishing resources, increasing travel distances, fuel costs, and operational risks for local fishermen.
The objection also aligns with Guam’s Public Law 38-129, enacted in June, which bans deep-sea mining in Guam’s nearshore waters extending 5.56km offshore under penalties of up to US$50,000 ($71,849) per day.
Write to Paula Fabe at Mining.com.au
Main image: Rick Cruz via Pacific Daily News
