As you know, this will be one of the major bills this committee will consider this year along with the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries. I doubt very seriously that there are many bills referred to more than one or two committees, but in this instance there are three committees working on it, and I had the privilege and pleasure of listening to the Ambassador last week sometime before he left on his trip. He brought several of us up to date on what has been happening in this area, and for the benefit of the subcommittee and staff we ask that you give us a briefing, too.

Before proceeding further, we will print at this point in the record the bills, H.R. 3350 and H.R. 3652.

[The bills H.R. 3350 and H.R. 3652 follow:]

95TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION

H. R. 3350

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 9, 1977

Mr. MURPHY of New York (for himself and Mr. BREAUX) introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the Committees on Merchant Marine and Fisheries and Interior and Insular Affairs

A BILL

To promote the orderly development of hard mineral resources in the deep seabed, pending adoption of an international regime relating thereto.

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 4 Minerals Act".

DECLARATION OF POLICY

SEC. 2. (a) FINDINGS.-The Congress finds

(1) that the Nation's hard mineral resource require

ments, to satisfy national industrial needs, will continue

to expand and that the demand for certain hard minerals

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will eventually exceed, in increasing amounts, the avail

able economic domestic sources of supply;

(2) that, in the case of some minerals, the Nation is dependent upon foreign sources of supply and that the acquisition of mineral resources from foreign sources is a substantial factor in the national balance-of-payments position;

(3) that the present and future national interest of the United States requires the availability of strategic mineral resources which are independent of the export policies of foreign nations;

(4) that there is an alternate source of supply of certain minerals, including nickel, copper, cobalt, and manganese which are significant in relation to national needs, contained in the manganese nodules existing in great abundance on the deep ocean floor;

(5) that major deposits of such nodules have been proven to exist in areas of the seabed which are seaward

of the limits of national resource jurisdiction recognized by international law;

(6) that various mining companies are engaged in developing the technology necessary for the recovery

and processing of deep seabed nodules;

(7) that it is in the national interest to encourage

United States mining companies to utilize and improve

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the existing technology by providing for interim legislation which will encourage further efforts to insure national access to available deep seabed hard minerals;

(8) that, given the necessary investment climate, United States mining companies are prepared to undertake programs for the recovery and processing of deep seabed hard minerals; and

(9) that it is in the national interest to establish a licensing program to regulate the activities of United States nationals undertaking the recovery of deep sea

bed hard minerals and that such activities be conducted in a manner to protect the quality of the environment

to the extent that that environment may be affected by activities involving exploration, recovery, and processing of deep seabed hard minerals.

(b) PURPOSE.-The Congress declares that the pur17 poses of this Act are

(1) to establish an interim program to encourage and regulate the recovery and processing of hard mineral resources of the deep seabed, pending the adoption of a superseding international agreement, relating to such activities, which is ratified by and

becomes binding upon the United States; and

(2) to insure that the development of hard mineral

resources on the deep seabed is carried out in an

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environmentally safe manner which will protect the

quality of the marine environment in any area affected

by such development.

DEFINITIONS

SEC. 3. For the purposes of this Act:

6 (1) The term "Secretary" means, except where its 7 usage indicates otherwise, the Secretary of Commerce. 8(2) The term "deep seabed" means the seabed, and 9 the subsoil thereof, to a depth of ten meters, lying seaward

10 and outside the Continental Shelf of any nation and, where 11 the United States recognizes an area of national resource 12 jurisdiction of any nation extending beyond the Continental 13 Shelf, lying seaward and outside that area.

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(3) The term "Continental Shelf" refers to the sea15 bed and subsoil of the submarine areas adjacent to the 16 coast of any nation (including the coast of islands), to a 17 point where the depth of the superjacent waters admits to

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18 the exploitation of the natural resources of the said areas, up 19 to the outer limits of the continental margin.

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(4) The term "block" means an area of the deep 21 seabed having four boundary lines which are lines of lon22 gitude and latitude, the width of which may not be less than 23 one-sixth the length, comprising not more than sixty thou24 sand square kilometers, subject to the reduction provided 23 for in sections 5 (c) (2) and 11.