Statement of-Continued Levering, Samuel R., secretary, Save Our Seas-The U.S. Committee Page 175, 471 Logue, Dr. John J., World Order Research Institute, Villanova Meeker, Leonard C., representing the Environmental Policy Center, Moore, Dr. John Norton, Counselor on International Law, U.S. Department of State, Chairman, National Security Council, Inter- agency Task Force on Law of the Sea, and Deputy Special Repre- sentative of the President for the Conference on the Law of the Pollock, Howard W., Deputy Administrator, National Oceanic and Ratiner, Leigh S., Director of Ocean Resources, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Mineral Resources, U.S. Department of the Interior__ Roels, Dr. Oswald A., chairman, Biological Oceanography, Lamont- Doherty Geological Observatory of Columbia University, and professor, City Institute of Oceanography.. Savit, Carl H., vice chairman, National Ocean Industries Association, 151 487 15, 371 445 World Association of World Federalists--- 151 Worthington, Howard, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Trade, Depart- 371 Developing Deficits in U.S. Primary Mineral Demands.. Preliminary Provisions for Domestic Legislation for the Interim Statement of American Mining Congress, with Respect to Work- Goldie, L.F.E.: International impact statements and the conservation Kilmarx, Dr. Robert A.: Prepared statement__ Moore, John Norton: Prepared statement Petersen, Nancy P., and John R. Justus: Deep-Sea Hard Minerals: Ratiner, Leigh S.: Prepared statement. Cruise report R/V Conrad 15-10, July 1972-Baseline Observa- tions of Physical, Chemical, and Biological Parameters in a Manganese Nodule Area in the North Atlantic (Bermuda Rise).. Literature Review of Biological and Chemical Properties of the 200 232 Report of Our Monitoring of Continuous Line Bucket Dredge 117 61 333 Article from the New York Times of January 9, 1974: Subter- Page 396 Article from the Science Magazine Raw Materials: U.S. 397 Article from the Washington Post of February 8, 1974: State 400 State Department: Answers to questions of Mr. Heyward... 388 Raw materials other than oil as economic weapons against the 391 Communications submitted for the record Barkenbus, Jack N., letter of March 18, 1974, to Subcommittee on 503 Brandel, Roland E., letter of March 15, 1974, to Hon. Thomas N. 500 Dubs, M. A.: Letter of April 6, 1974, to Representative Thomas N. Downing 431 512 Finlay, Luke W., letter of April 9, 1973, to Hon. Thomas N. Downing-- 323 Letter of March 12, 1974, to Hon. Thomas N. Downing___. Goldie, L. F. E.: 410 Letter of April 23, 1973, to Hon. Thomas H. Downing with a 330 Hargis, William J., Jr., letter of March 19, 1973, to Hon. Thomas N. 149 Houseman, C. T., letter of March 29, 1973, to Hon. Thomas N. 318 Moody, O. William, Jr., letter of March 26, 1973, to Hon. Thomas N. 320 Overton, J. Allen, Jr., letter of April 12, 1972, to Robert M. White. 311 327 DEEP SEABED HARD MINERALS THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 1973 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON OCEANOGRAPHY OF THE Washington, D.C. The Subcommittee on Oceanography met in room 1334, Longworth House Office Building, at 10:12 a.m., Hon. Thomas N. Downing presiding. Mr. DOWNING. The subcommittee will come to order. My introductory statement is a little long, but I think it is rather important. This morning, the Subcommittee on Oceanography will begin consideration of H.R. 9, the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act, a bill to provide the Secretary of the Interior with the authority to promote the conservation and orderly development of the hard mineral resources of the deep seabed, pending adoption of an international regime therefor. H.R. 9 was introduced by me on January 3, 1973, for myself and seven cosponsors from this committee. The bill is identical with earlier bills introduced in the 2d session, 92d Congress, H.R. 13076, H.R. 13904, and H.R. 14918. [The bills and departmental reports follow:] [H.R. 9, H.R. 7732, 93d Cong., 1st Sess.] BILLS To provide the Secretary of the Interior with authority to promote the conservation and orderly development of the hard mineral resources of the deep seabed, pending adoption of an international regime therefor. Be is enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the "Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act". SEC. 2. When used in this Act DEFINITIONS (a) "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Interior; (b) "deep seabed" means the seabed and subsoil vertically below lying seaward and outside the Continental Shelf of the United States and the Continental Shelves of foreign states, as defined in the 1958 Convention on the Continental Shelf; (c) "block" means an area of the deep seabed having four boundary lines which are lines of longtitude and latitude, the width of which may not be less than one-sixth the length and shall include either of two types of blocks: (i) "surface blocks" comprising not more than forty thousand square kilometers and extending downward from the seabed surface to a depth of ten meters; (ii) "subsurface blocks" comprising not more than five hundred square kilometers and extending from ten meters below the seabed surface downward with limitation; (d) "hard mineral" means any mineral, metalliferous mud, or other nonliving substance other than oil, gas, hydrocarbons, and any other sub stance which both naturally occurs and is normally recovered in liquid or gaseous form; (e) "development" means any operation of exploration and exploitation, other than prospecting, having the purpose of discovery, recovery, or delivery of hard minerals from the deep seabed; (f) "prospecting" means any operation conducted for the purpose of making geophysical or geochemical measurements, bottom sampling, or comparable activities so long as such operation is carried on in a manner that does not significantly alter the surface or subsurface of the deep seabed; (g) "commercial recovery" means recovery of hard minerals at a substantial rate of production (without regard to profit or loss) for the primary purpose of marketing or commercial use and does not include recovery for any other purpose such as sampling, experimenting in recovery methods, or testing equipment or plant for recovery or treatment of hard minerals; (h) "person" means any government or unit thereof and any jurisdical or natural person; (i) "reciprocating state" means any foreign state designated by the President as a state having legislation or state practice or agreements with the United States which establish an interim policy and practice comparable to that of the United States under this Act; (j) "international registry clearinghouse" shall mean a recording agency or organization designated by the President in cooperation with reciprocating states. SECRETARY'S POWERS; REQUIREMENT OF LICENSE SEC.. 3. The Secretary shall administer the provisions of this Act and may prescribe such regulations as are necessary to its execution. No person subject to the jurisdiction of the United States shall directly or indirectly develop any portion of the deep seabed except as authorized by license issued pursuant to this Act or by a reciprocating state. Nothing in this Act or any regulation prescribed thereunder shall preclude, or impose any restriction upon, scientific research or prospecting by any person or any portion of the deep seabed not subject to an outstanding license issued under this Act or by any reciprocating state, or shall require any applicant for a license or any licensee to divulge any information which could prejudice its commercial position. EXCLUSIVE LICENSES; LIMITATIONS AND CONDITIONS SEC. 4. (a) The Secretary shall issue licenses pursuant to section 5, recognizing rights, which shall be exclusive as against all persons subject to the jurisdiction of the United States or of any reciprocating state, to develop the block designated in such license, as follows: (i) as to each surface block, the rights shall extend to manganese-oxide nodules and all other hard minerals at the surface of the deep seabed or located vertically below to a depth not exceeding ten meters; (ii) as to each subsurface block, the rights shall extend to all hard minerals located more than ten meters beneath the surface of the deep seabed. (b) Where a subsurface block leased to one person is subjacent to a surface block leased to a different person, the licensee of the subsurface block shall have the right to penetrate the surface block and the Secretary shall prescribe regulations to prevent undue interference by one with the other, giving reasonable priority to the first licensee. No license shall preclude scientific research by any person in licensed areas where such activities do not interfere with development by the licensees. (c) Every license issued under this Act shall remain in force for fifteen years and, where commercial recovery of hard minerals has been achieved from a licensed block within fifteen years, such license shall remain in force so long as commercial recovery from the block continues. The Secretary shall prescribe, as conditions for every license issued pursuant to this Act, minimum annual expenditures as specified in section 7. and requirements to protect the environment, prevent unreasonable interference with other ocean uses, and promote arbitral settlement of disputes. Where circumstances beyond the control of a licensee impair its ability to develop any portion of the deep seabed held under such license, the term of the license and the dates for complying with any other license condition shall be extended for an equal length of time. |