September 6, 2026 - Washington, D.C. – On Friday, U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Rep. Aumua Amata Radewagen (R-American Samoa), Rep. Kimberlyn King-Hinds (R-Northern Mariana Islands), Rep. James Moylan (R-Guam), and Rep. Ed Case (D-Hawaii) sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and the Marine Minerals Administration requesting a formal, open public comment period for the proposed deep sea mining lease sales offshore American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI).
The two sales would be the first of their kind in federal waters, and the lawmakers warned they will set the precedent for every future seabed mineral lease on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.
“A first-of-its-kind lease sale opening federal waters to a commercially untested and environmentally impactful industry should favor more transparency, not less,” the lawmakers wrote. “The PLNs lock in historically low rental and royalty rates despite both the novelty of the activity and the limited public record supporting any valuation of these resources. There is also the potential for impacts on marine ecosystems, fisheries, cultural resources, and state and territorial interests.”
So far, the Department has invited comment only from the Governors of American Samoa and CNMI. The lawmakers respect the Governors’ role but wrote that treating them as the sole reviewers is “a more restrictive approach to public comment than virtually any other taken in OCSLA history — falling well short of the procedural transparency and environmental review typically offered for oil, gas, and offshore wind lease sales.”
“[The Marine Minerals Administration’s] decision to advance these unprecedented and consequential lease sales without a formal public comment period reflects a troubling lack of transparency for far-reaching actions that could affect public goods and resources,” the lawmakers continued. “Opening a comment period and providing all of the supporting documentation should not be treated as a discretionary courtesy or a procedural obstacle; rather, it is the minimum necessary step to allow affected communities, experts, and the public would receive a fair return, and identify risks that MMA has not adequately addressed.”
The lawmakers also asked the Department to release records of its consultations with other federal agencies before the comment window closes, and pointed out that families in Alaska, Guam, and Virginia, where seabed mining has also been proposed and who depend on the ocean for their livelihoods, culture, and food, deserve the same opportunity to be heard.
Background
On July 17, 2026, the Marine Minerals Administration published a Proposed Leasing Notice for a deep sea mining lease sale offshore American Samoa, followed by a Proposed Leasing Notice for a lease sale offshore the CNMI. These Proposed Leasing Notices offer the first publicly available information about the proposed terms for deep sea mining leases, terms, and conditions. The Governors of American Samoa and the CNMI were each given 60 days to review and comment on the proposed leasing notices. There is no formal public input process for either proposed sale.
Source: Natural Resources Committee-Democrats