119-hr664

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 664 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 664

 To prohibit certain mining activities on the deep seabed and Outer 
 Continental Shelf, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 January 23, 2025

 Mr. Case (for himself, Ms. Bonamici, Ms. Norton, and Ms. Tlaib) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
 Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To prohibit certain mining activities on the deep seabed and Outer 
 Continental Shelf, and for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``American Seabed Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN MINING ACTIVITIES ON DEEP SEABED AND 
 OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF.

    (a) 

=== Findings ===
-Congress finds the following:

    (1) As determined by the United Nations, most recently in 
 its Sustainable Development Goals report, our world's oceans 
 are at great risk from a number of factors, including 
 atmospheric change, resource extraction, and pollution.

    (2) The United Nation's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable 
 Development, launched by the 2015 UN Summit in New York 
 established Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDS 14), to 
 conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine 
 resources. Target 2 of SDS 14 commits States to sustainably 
 manage marine ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts 
 and strengthen their resilience.

    (3) The international marine scientific and policy 
 consensus is that deep seabed mining presents a major risk to 
 the marine environment, including--
        (A) the direct loss of unique and ecologically 
 important species;
        (B) large sediment plumes that will negatively 
 affect ecosystems well beyond the actual mining sites;
            (C) noise pollution that will cause physiological 
 and behavioral stress to marine species;
            (D) likely contamination of commercially important 
 species of food fish; and
        (E) likely negative impacts on carbon sequestration 
 dynamics and deep-ocean carbon storage.

    (4) The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, 
 15th Conference of Parties, Decision 15/24 encourages member 
 States to ensure that, before deep seabed mineral exploitation 
 is permitted, the related impacts on the marine environment and 
 biodiversity are sufficiently researched, the risks to the 
 marine ecosystem are sufficiently understood, and sufficient 
 regulation and conditions are imposed to ensure that 
 exploitation does not cause harmful effects to the marine 
 environment and biodiversity.

    (5) The 2022 United Nations Environment Programme Financial 
 Initiative report on deep seabed mining states that the 
 financing of such activities is not consistent with Sustainable 
 Blue Economy Finance Principles.

    (6) There is currently insufficient scientific information 
 on the deep sea and related marine ecosystems to fully and 
 accurately assess the risks and impacts of deep seabed mining 
 activities.

    (b) Prohibition of Certain Mining Activities on Deep Seabed and 
Outer Continental Shelf.--

    (1) Deep seabed.--Notwithstanding any provision of the Deep 
 Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act (30 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.), no 
 license, permit, or other authorization may be issued for 
 exploration or commercial recovery.

    (2) Outer continental shelf.--Notwithstanding any provision 
 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1301 et 
 seq.), no license, permit, or other authorization may be issued 
 for exploration, development, or production of a hardrock 
 mineral on the Outer Continental Shelf.

    (3) Exception for scientific research.--Paragraphs

    (1) and

    (2) shall not apply to the issuance of a license, permit, or 
 other authorization to carry out scientific research 
 activities.
            (c) Assessment of Environmental Impacts of Mining Activities on 
Deep Seabed and Outer Continental Shelf.--

    (1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
 the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall seek to 
 enter into an agreement with the National Academies of Science, 
 Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a comprehensive study of 
 the environmental impacts of mining activities on the deep 
 seabed and Outer Continental Shelf.

    (2) Submission of assessment.--The Secretary shall submit 
 to the appropriate Congressional committees a report regarding 
 the findings of the study described in paragraph

    (1) .

    (3) Contents.--The study described in paragraph

    (1) shall 
 include the following:
        (A) A characterization of ecosystems--
            (i) on the deep seabed and Outer 
 Continental Shelf;
            (ii) in the overlying water columns of the 
 deep seabed and Outer Continental Shelf; and
            (iii) on seamounts and hydrothermal vents.
        (B) An assessment of the potential impacts 
 associated with mining activities on the deep seabed 
 and Outer Continental Shelf on--
            (i) habitats and species on the deep seabed 
 and Outer Continental Shelf and in the 
 overlying water columns of the deep seabed and 
 Outer Continental Shelf, including--
            (I) an approximate quantification 
 of the spatial extent and timescale of 
 such impacts; and
            (II) the potential for the recovery 
 of such habitats and species from such 
 impacts;
            (ii) the capacity of deep sea and open 
 ocean processes and ecosystems to sequester 
 greenhouse gases;
            (iii) users of the marine environment, 
 including--
            (I) commercial and recreational 
 fisheries;
            (II) recreational users;
            (III) aquaculture operations; and
            (IV) developers of subsea 
 infrastructure; and
            (iv) indigenous peoples and cultures linked 
 to marine species and the marine environment.
            (C) An assessment of the potential impacts of 
 sediment plumes from disturbance of the deep seabed and 
 Outer Continental Shelf and collector vessel discharge 
 on pelagic species and food webs.
            (D) An approximate quantification of the greenhouse 
 gas emissions associated with mining activities on the 
 deep seabed and Outer Continental Shelf, including such 
 emissions that may result from the alteration of the 
 biology, geology, or chemistry of the sediment on or 
 the overlying water column of the deep seabed and Outer 
 Continental Shelf.
        (E) An assessment of the viability of alternatives 
 to the use of minerals found on the deep seabed and 
 Outer Continental Shelf, including--
            (i) developing a greater capacity for and 
 promoting the reuse and recycling of such 
 minerals in circulation;
            (ii) developing and promoting the use of 
 substitute minerals and materials that have 
 fewer or less severe environmental impacts 
 associated with such use; and
            (iii) developing methods to reduce the 
 environmental impacts of terrestrial mining 
 practices and other similar initiatives.
            (d) === Definitions. ===
-In this section:

    (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
 ``appropriate Congressional committees'' means--
        (A) with respect to the House of Representatives--
            (i) the Committee on Foreign Affairs; and
            (ii) the Committee on Natural Resources; 
 and
        (B) with respect to the Senate--
            (i) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
 Transportation;
            (ii) the Committee on Energy and Natural 
 Resources; and
            (iii) the Committee on Foreign Relations.

    (2) Commercial recovery.--The term ``commercial recovery'' 
 has the meaning given the term in 

section 4 of the Deep Seabed 
 Hard Mineral Resources Act (30 U.S.C. 1403).

    (3) Deep seabed.--The term ``deep seabed'' has the meaning 
 given the term in 

section 4 of the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral 
 Resources Act (30 U.S.C. 1403).

    (4) Development.--The term ``development'' has the meaning 
 given the term in 

section 2 of the Outer Continental Shelf 
 Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331).

    (5) Exploration.--The term ``exploration''--
        (A) when used with respect to the deep seabed, has 
 the meaning given the term in 

section 4 of the Deep 
 Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act (30 U.S.C. 1403); and
        (B) when used with respect to the Outer Continental 
 Shelf, has the meaning given the term in 

section 2 of 
 the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331).

    (6) Outer continental shelf.--The term ``Outer Continental 
 Shelf'' has the meaning given the term ``outer Continental 
 Shelf'' in 

section 2 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 
 (43 U.S.C. 1331).

    (7) Production.--The term ``production'' has the meaning 
 given the term in 

section 2 of the Outer Continental Shelf 
 Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331).

    (8) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
 of Commerce, acting through the Administrator of the National 
 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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