Data-center law in Northern Mariana Islands

2 CMC §§ 7201 et seq.

Effective 1989-06-27 · Applies to both

The Zoning Code creates a Zoning Board and Zoning Administrator with authority to adopt a zoning plan and issue land-use permits, applying by default only to the Third Senatorial District (Saipan and the Northern Islands); it does not reach the First (Rota) or Second (Tinian) Senatorial Districts unless a local law separately extends it there.

A data-center site on Saipan obtains its zoning entitlement under this chapter; a site on Rota or Tinian instead falls under that district's own local zoning ordinance, codified separately in Title 10.

Source: Full text of law

2 CMC §§ 3101 et seq.

Effective 1982-10-08 · Applies to both

The Environmental Protection Act charges the Division of Environmental Quality (within the Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality) with permitting authority over activities that affect the environment, including a distinct, longer review track for a "major siting."

A permit issued under this chapter may require the applicant to supply information, allow monitoring, and prepare or assist in preparing an environmental assessment or statement, the closest the Commonwealth comes to an environmental-impact-review requirement for a large facility such as a data center.

Source: Full text of law

4 CMC §§ 8121 et seq.

Effective 2008-10-01 · Applies to both

The Commonwealth Utilities Corporation (CUC), a public corporation with an Electrical Power Division, is the sole supplier of electric service in the Commonwealth; there is no competitive retail market and no separate generation-siting statute of the kind a mainland jurisdiction runs through a state energy commission. CUC's rates and charges are set subject to review by the Public Utilities Commission.

A data center's interconnection and electric-service agreement is negotiated directly with CUC rather than obtained under a separate siting or franchise statute.

Source: Full text of law

4 CMC §§ 8121 et seq.

Effective 2008-10-01 · Applies to both

The same Commonwealth Utilities Corporation that supplies electric service also operates the Commonwealth's Water Services Division and Sewer Division, so a data center's water supply and wastewater discharge are both provided and regulated by CUC rather than by a separate water district or sewer authority. CUC's water and sewer rates are likewise subject to Public Utilities Commission review.

Source: Full text of law

2 CMC §§ 7111 et seq.

Effective 1990-02-02 · Applies to both

The Building Safety Code applies to the location, design, material, construction, enlargement, maintenance, use, occupancy, and moving of any building or structure in the Commonwealth, and building permits are issued under it. The code adopts the International Building Code by reference, commencing with the 2018 Edition (including Appendices C, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, and M), as the technical construction standard; the Building Safety Official may adopt later IBC editions by regulation.

Source: Full text of law

4 CMC §§ 50201-50224

Effective 2000-12-01 · Applies to private

The Investment Incentive Act lets the Governor, on the Commonwealth Economic Development Authority Board's recommendation, issue a Qualifying Certificate abating or rebating up to 100 percent of most Commonwealth taxes for up to 25 years. Eligible categories include "internet related businesses and/or businesses engaged in internet commerce" and a catch-all for "any development or project beneficial to the economic development of the Commonwealth," so a data center could qualify under either.

The internet-business category carries the lowest minimum capital investment of any listed category, $100,000 for a new business or $50,000 for an expansion (60 percent of those figures on Rota and Tinian), against a $1,000,000 (new) or $500,000 (expansion) threshold for the general catch-all and for most other categories.

Source: Full text of law