MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE DEEP SEABED THURSDAY, MAY 17, 1973 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON MINERALS, MATERIALS AND FUELS, Washington, D.C. The committee met at 2 p.m., in room 3110, Dirksen Office Building, Hon. Lee Metcalf, presiding. Present: Senator Metcalf (presiding). Also present: Jerry T. Verkler, staff director; William J. Van Ness, chief counsel; Mike Harvey, special counsel; Harrison Loesch, minority counsel; Merrill W. Englund, special committee assistant for Outer Continental Shelf; and David P. Stang, deputy director, National Fuels and Energy Study. Senator METCALF. The subcommittee will be in order. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. LEE METCALF, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF MONTANA Today we resume hearings on legislation 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. The bill before the 93d Congress is S. 1134, which I introduced on March 8, 1973. Without objection, it will be printed at this point in the record. [The full text of S. 1134 and executive communications follow:] 93D CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1134 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 8, 1973 Mr. METCALF (for himself, Mr. BARTLETT, Mr. BELLMON, Mr. BIBLE, Mr. FANNIN, Mr. HANSEN, and Mr. STEVENS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs A BILL 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. 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 That this Act may be cited as the "Deep Seabed Hard Min4 eral Resources Act". 5 6 7 8 9 DEFINITIONS SEC. 2. When used in this Act (a) "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Inte rior; II-O (b) "deep seabed" means the seabed and subsoil ★(Star Print) 2 vertically below lying seaward and outside the Conti nental 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 hav ing four boundary lines which are lines of longitude and latitude, the width of which may not be less than onesixth 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 without limitation; (d) "hard mineral" means any mineral, metalliferous mud, or other nonliving substance other than oil, gas, hydrocarbons, and any other substance 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 3 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 juridical 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 neces 2 vertically below lying seaward and outside the Conti nental 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 hav ing four boundary lines which are lines of longitude 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 without limitation; (d) "hard mineral" means any mineral, metalliferous mud, or other nonliving substance other than oil, gas, hydrocarbons, and any other substance 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 |