OIA Press Releases (2020 to Present)

Department of the Interior Provides Funds to Strengthen Capacity for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands-Only Transitional Worker Program

09/01/2016

WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 1, 2016) – Assistant Secretary for Insular Areas Esther Kia’aina today approved a $200,000 grant for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) to create a team of labor certification technicians and a statistician at the Department of Labor to help collect, compile, and analyze crucial data on the CNMI-Only Transitional Worker (CW) Program, which is set to expire on December 31, 2019. 

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United States and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Begin Section 902 Consultations

06/06/2016

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 6, 2016) – In all-day meetings at the White House today, Interior Assistant Secretary for Insular Areas Esther Kia’aina, Special Representative for the United States, began the first in a series of official consultations with Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Governor Ralph DLG. Torres, the Special Representative for the CNMI. Known as 902 Consultations, the discussions are authorized by Section 902 of the Covenant to Establish the CNMI in Political Union with the United States of America, which provides that the Government of the United States and the Government of the Northern Mariana Islands will consult regularly on all matters affecting the relationship between them, not less frequently than every ten years.

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Chuuk State Refurbishes Wastewater Treatment Plant using $3.8 Million in Compact Infrastructure Grants

05/27/2016

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 27, 2016) – Chuuk State officials recently inaugurated a newly-refurbished waste water treatment plant to include a conventional sewerage system and reliable pumping and treatment system to service the main island of Weno.  The Chuuk Public Utilities Corporation managed and administered the project using Compact Infrastructure Sector grants totaling $3,845,000. 

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