Legislative Findings and Intent

(a)I Liheslaturan Guåhan finds that it is in the best interest of Guam to support and facilitate the construction of fiber optic submarine cables between Guam and the rest of the world to support future and current telecommunication requirements for its residents and businesses. There are several fiber optic cable systems landing in Guam providing connectivity to Guam. Several companies and consortiums have expressed an interest to construct additional fiber optic cable systems or to extend current leases, which will benefit Guam residents and businesses by creating more connectivity and a more robust infrastructure to support modern commerce.

(b)I Liheslaturan Guåhan further finds while the government of Guam recognizes the importance of telecommunications cables and enhanced connection capability to the future growth of Guam’s economy, the government does not have a uniform policy to govern the leasing of submerged lands for the purposes of submarine cables, nor a plan for taking advantage of the placement of these cables to diversify industry and economic investment fairly.

(c)Title 48 U.S. Code § 1705(a), regarding Tidelands, etc. Conveyed to Guam, states that “subject to valid existing rights, all right, title, and interest of the United States in lands permanently or periodically covered by tidal waters up to but not above the line of mean high tide and seaward to a line three geographical miles distant from the coastlines of the territories of Guam… are hereby conveyed to the governments of Guam… as the case may be, to be administered in trust for the benefit of the people thereof.” The bulk of submerged lands on Guam is currently under stewardship of the Chamorro Land Trust Commission (CLTC), and this Article shall apply to CLTC submerged lands. CH. 75A CHAMORRO LAND TRUST COMMISSION EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2021

(d)I Liheslaturan Guåhan further finds there is a need to update previous cable License Agreements entered into by the government of Guam to bring all telecommunications agreements more in line with the global market.

(e)Therefore, it is the intent of I Liheslaturan Guåhan to authorize CLTC to negotiate and enter into commercial submerged lands License Agreements for the purpose of brining additional telecommunications infrastructure for a period exceeding the twenty-one

(21)year limit authorized in § 75A122(a)(2) of this Chapter subject to approvals and permits, and concurrence as required by U.S. federal and local laws including permitting application review and approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for work in U.S. waters, the Guam Coastal Management Program Federal Consistency Certification requirements in accordance with the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, and the Guam Territorial Seashore Protection Commission pursuant to the Guam Territorial Seashore Protection Act of 1974 for work within the seashore reserve, Guam Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service.