JUST ASKING — Why was a govt project allowed to proceed prior to a Land Use Permit being issued?

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The Department of Education and the Department of Commerce have remained mum on the excavation work conducted on land adjacent to the American Samoa Community College (ASCC) for a new trade school project under the auspices of the Dept. of Education that took place without a land use permit.

This was revealed during a recent PNRS meeting where attendees were questioned why this specific project proceeded without a land use permit permit.

Samoa News reached out to the DOE Director Talauega Dr. Samasoni Asaeli, via email for comments last month to the present, along with messages to his secretary — and to date there has been no response.

It is the same with the Department of Commerce Director Petti Matila and Acting Director Michael McDonald, emails for comments were not answered.

Meanwhile concern from members of the public is that construction companies and families have to go through a stringent and lengthy process to retain a Land Use Permit prior to any work — including site preparation on their projects, yet for government projects the policies are not upheld.

Belatedly, on September 21, 2022 the Project Notification and Review System Board met and this project was on the agenda under “ASDOE c/o Samasoni Asaeli proposal for demolition and excavation, Mapusaga; 22-9219-ASG.

BACKGROUND

DOE Director told Fono leaders during budget hearings they are building a new trade school for high school students while Votech will be turned into a full academic school.

According to Chapter 02 - Coastal Management, Title 26 - Environment Safety and Land Management:

“All persons proposing to undertake any action which may cause or threaten an adverse impact to coastal resources shall apply for a land use permit, except where specifically exempted by law.

“A land use permit means a written authorization signed by the Director on an approved form that authorizes a specified party to undertake a specified project, use or action.

“A land use permit application is necessary for all physical project work, including, but not limited to, site preparation, filling, grading, dredging, excavation, and erection or siting of structures.”

Furthermore Land use permit application forms shall be made available at the Department of Commerce. The completed land use permit application shall be filed with the Department of Commerce for review at any time during normal business hours.

“The land use permit application shall be accompanied by a vicinity map; a fully dimensioned site plan that shall include topographic data at a scale appropriate to discern the principal features of the site, a functional floor plan, a container plan, and a parking plan; an erosion control plan necessary to reduce non-point source pollution that includes existing contours and proposed final grading of the site, existing and proposed drainage, a description of adjacent and down slope sites, and a narrative of how the proposed drainage plan will impact those sites; or any other supporting documentation that may be required by law or by the provisions of the chapter.

“All information submitted with the application or at any other time in the review process shall be public information, provided that certain proprietary information, not material to a review of project compliance, may be withheld if requested in writing to the Chair and such request is approved.”

Furthermore the Board shall not issue a land use permit until all administrative fees, after-the-fact penalties, stop work orders, or citations, as consistent with this chapter, are resolved.

“In the case of work commenced without a land use permit, should the Board determine that the applicant is not eligible for a land use permit, the applicant shall restore the site to its pre-work condition.

“If the applicant refuses or is unable to take the required remedial action, the American Samoa Government may perform the necessary remedial action, and the applicant shall be financially responsible for all costs associated with the necessary remedial action to restore the site to its pre-work condition.”

The PNRS board is made up of directors or their designee of  agencies which have permitting or regulatory authority on land use development and environmental matters in the coastal zone.

Department of Commerce; American Samoa Environmental Protection Agency; American Samoa Historic Preservation Office; American Samoa Power Authority; Department of Health; Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources; Department of Parks and Recreation; and Department of Public Works.