[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 15, Volume 3]
[Revised as of January 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 15CFR971.204]

[Page 346-347]
 
                  TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND FOREIGN TRADE
 
CHAPTER IX--NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT 
                               OF COMMERCE
 
PART 971_DEEP SEABED MINING REGULATIONS FOR COMMERCIAL RECOVERY PERMITS--Table 
of Contents
 
                         Subpart B_Applications
 
Sec. 971.204  Environmental and use conflict analysis.

    (a) Environmental information submission. The application must be 
supported by sufficient marine environmental information for the 
Administrator to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) on the 
proposed mining activities, and to determine the appropriate permit TCRs 
based on environmental characteristics of the requested minesite. The 
Administrator may require the submission of additional data, in the 
event he determines that the basis for a suitable EIS, or a 
determination of appropriate TCRs, is not available.
    (b)(1) In preparing the EIS, the Administrator will attempt to 
characterize the environment in such a way as to provide a basis for 
judging the potential for significant adverse effects or irreparable 
harm triggered by commercial mining (see subpart F). In compiling these 
data, the Administrator will utilize existing information including the 
relevant license EIS, additional exploration data acquired by the 
applicant, and other data in the public domain.
    (2) The EIS must present adequate physical, chemical, and biological 
information for the permit area. If the permit area lies within the area 
of NOAA's Deep Ocean Mining Environmental Study (DOMES), the parameters 
listed in NOAA's Technical Guidance Document pertaining to the upper and 
lower water column should be included. Specifically, these parameters 
include:
    (i) Upper water column--

Nutrients
Endangered species
Salinity, temperature, density
Currents.

    (ii) Lower water column and seafloor--

Currents
Suspended particulate matter dispersion
Sediment characteristics (mineralogy, particle size, shape and density, 
and water content)
Topography
Benthos.

    (3) For a permit area outside the DOMES area, the applicant is 
encouraged to consult with NOAA at the earliest opportunity in order to 
determine the specific parameters to be measured based on the location 
and specific environmental characteristics of the permit area. The 
Administrator, in consultation with the Administrator of the 
Environmental Protection Agency

[[Page 347]]

and with the assistance of other appropriate Federal agencies, may 
determine that a programmatic EIS is required for any new area.
    (c) The application must include a monitoring plan for test mining 
and at-sea commercial recovery activities which meets the objectives and 
requirements of Sec. 971.603.
    (d) Use conflict analysis. The application must include information 
known to the applicant on other uses of the proposed mining area to 
support the Administrator's determination regarding potential use 
conflicts between commercial mining activities and those activities of 
other nations or of other U.S. citizens.
    (e) Onshore information. Because of NEPA requirements, the 
Administrator must include in the EIS on the proposed permit the 
complete spectrum of activities resulting from the issuance of a permit. 
Therefore, onshore information including the location and operation of 
nodule processing facilities must be submitted with the application in 
accordance with the details in Sec. 971.606.