Case targets potentially destructive deep-seabed mining in latest bill pair

US Rep. Case has reintroduced two measures in the 119th Congress calling for moratoria on the mining of the Earth’s deep seabed unless and until its potentially destructive consequences are fully understood and an appropriate international protective regulatory regime is established.

“Our deep oceans and seabed are the last unexplored regions of our world, yet what we do know of them is that they are among our most intricate and fragile,” Case said.

Among the deep-seabed mining areas most sought after by the industry for immediate unregulated mining is the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, an abyssal plain as wide as the continental United States, punctuated by seamounts, which extends to just hundreds of miles southeast of Hawai‘i Island.

The area is known to contain vast amounts of high-grade polymetallic nodules, which contain mineral resource for copper, nickel, cobalt, iron, manganese and rare earth elements—metals that are becoming important for modern life, since they are used in making electronics like rechargeable batteries and touch screens, among other things.

However, little, if anything, is known about the marine ecosystem of this area or its connection to Hawaii’s own marine and related ecosystem.

“The marine life and natural processes not only of this zone but of our world’s oceans, and their relationships to our international ecosystems in terms of biodiversity, weather and other macro-environmental interdependencies, are in all likelihood imperiled by the imminent commencement of large-scale unregulated commercial seabed mining operations,” said Case. “Seabed mining could take a number of destructive forms, including methods which would shear off seamounts on the ocean floor, the functional equivalent of strip mining.”

Case said the American Seabed Protection Act will place a moratorium on deep-sea mining activities in American waters or by American companies on the high seas. It also tasks the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Academies of Science with conducting a comprehensive assessment of how mining activities could affect ocean species, carbon sequestration processes and communities that rely on the ocean.

The International Seabed Protection Act will require the United States to oppose international and other national seabed mining efforts until the President certifies that the International Seabed Authority has adopted a suitable regulatory framework which will guarantee protection for these unique ecosystems and the communities that rely on them.

The introduction of the measures comes as the International Seabed Authority considers regulations that could open the international seabed for mining. While both companies and countries are lining up to secure mining permits, many are concerned about the impact on marine ecosystems, habitats and communities.

The bills are endorsed by the Benioff Ocean Science Lab, the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, Earthworks, Marine Conservation Institute, Blue Climate Initiative – Tetiaroa Society and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

View the proposed American Seabed Protection Act here. Text for the International Seabed Protection Act can be accessed here.