[Code of Federal Regulations] [Title 15, Volume 3] [Revised as of January 1, 2006] From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access [CITE: 15CFR970.100] [Page 307-309] TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND FOREIGN TRADE CHAPTER IX--NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE PART 970_DEEP SEABED MINING REGULATIONS FOR EXPLORATION LICENSES --Table of Contents Subpart A_General Sec. 970.100 Purpose. Subpart A_General Sec. 970.100 Purpose. 970.101 Definitions. 970.102 Nature of licenses. 970.103 Prohibited activities and restrictions. Subpart B_Applications 970.200 General. Contents 970.201 Statement of financial resources. 970.202 Statement of technological experience and capabilities. 970.203 Exploration plan. 970.204 Environmental and use conflict analysis. 970.205 Vessel safety. 970.206 Statement of ownership. 970.207 Antitrust information. 970.208 Fee. [[Page 308]] Procedures 970.209 Substantial compliance with application requirements. 970.210 Reasonable time for full compliance. 970.211 Consultation and cooperation with Federal agencies. 970.212 Public notice, hearing and comment. 970.213 Amendment to an application. Subpart C_Procedures for Applications Based on Exploration Commenced Before June 28, 1980; Resolution of Conflicts Among Overlapping Applications; Applications by New Entrants 970.300 Purposes and definitions. 970.301 Requirements for applications based on pre-enactment exploration. 970.302 Procedures and criteria for resolving conflicts. 970.303 Procedures for new entrants. 970.304 Action on portions of applications or amendments not in conflict. Subpart D_Certification of Applications 970.400 General. 970.401 Financial responsibility. 970.402 Technological capability. 970.403 Previous license and permit obligations. 970.404 Adequate exploration plan. 970.405 Appropriate exploration site size and location. 970.406 Fee payment. 970.407 Denial of certification. 970.408 Notice of certification. Subpart E_Issuance/Transfer/Terms, Conditions and Restrictions 970.500 General. Issuance/Transfer; Modification/Revision; Suspension/Revocation 970.501 Proposal to issue or transfer and of terms, conditions and restrictions. 970.502 Consultation and cooperation with Federal agencies. 970.503 Freedom of the high seas. 970.504 International obligations of the United States. 970.505 Breach of international peace and security involving armed conflict. 970.506 Environmental effects. 970.507 Safety at sea. 970.508 Denial of issuance or transfer. 970.509 Notice of issuance or transfer. 970.510 Objections to terms, conditions and restrictions. 970.511 Suspension or modification of activities; suspension or revocation of licenses. 970.512 Modification of terms, conditions and restrictions. 970.513 Revision of a license. 970.514 Scale requiring application procedures. 970.515 Duration of a license. 970.516 Approval of license transfers. Terms, Conditions, and Restrictions 970.517 Diligence requirements. 970.518 Environmental protection requirements. 970.519 Resource conservation requirements. 970.520 Freedom of the high seas requirements. 970.521 Safety at sea requirements. 970.522 Monitoring requirements. 970.523 Special terms, conditions, and restrictions. 970.524 Other Federal requirements. Subpart F_Resource Development Concepts 970.600 General. 970.601 Logical mining unit. 970.602 Diligent exploration. 970.603 Conservation of resources. Subpart G_Environmental Effects 970.700 General. 970.701 Significant adverse environmental effects. 970.702 Monitoring and mitigation of environmental effects. Subpart H_Safety of Life and Property at Sea 970.800 General. 970.801 Criteria for safety of life and property at sea. Subpart I_Miscellaneous 970.900 Other applicable regulations. Subparts J-W [Reserved] Subpart X_Pre-enactment Exploration 970.2401 Definitions. 970.2402 Notice of pre-enactment exploration. Subpart Y_Pre-license Exploration 970.2501 Notice of pre-license exploration voyages. 970.2502 Post voyage report. 970.2503 Suspension of exploration activities. Subpart Z_Miscellaneous 970.2601 Additional information. Authority: 30 U.S.C. 1401 et seq. [[Page 309]] Source: 46 FR 45896, Sept. 15, 1981, unless otherwise noted. (a) General. The purpose of this part is to implement those responsibilities and authorities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), pursuant to Public Law 96-283, the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act (the Act), to issue to eligible United States citizens licenses for the exploration for deep seabed hard minerals. (b) Purposes of the Act. In preparing these regulations NOAA has been mindful of the purposes of the Act, as set forth in section 2(b) thereof. These include: (1) Encouraging the successful conclusion of a comprehensive Law of the Sea Treaty, which will give legal definition to the principle that the hard mineral resources of the deep seabed are the common heritage of mankind and which will assure, among other things, nondiscriminatory access to such resources for all nations; (2) Establishing, pending the ratification by, and entering into force with respect to, the United States of such a treaty, an interim program to regulate the exploration for and commercial recovery of hard mineral resources of the deep seabed by United States citizens; (3) Accelerating the program of environmental assessment of exploration for and commercial recovery of hard mineral resources of the deep seabed and assuring that such exploration and recovery activities are conducted in a manner which will encourage the conservation of such resources, protect the quality of the environment, and promote the safety of life and property at sea; (4) Encouraging the continued development of technology necessary to recover the hard mineral resources of the deep seabed; and (5) Pending the ratification by, and entry into force with respect to, the United States of a Law of the Sea Treaty, providing for the establishment of an international revenue-sharing fund the proceeds of which will be used for sharing with the international community pursuant to such treaty. (c) Regulatory approach. (1) These regulations incorporate NOAA's recognition that the deep seabed mining industry is still evolving and that more information must be developed to form the basis for future decisions by industry and by NOAA in its implementation of the Act. They also recognize the need for flexibility in order to promote the development of deep seabed mining technology, and the usefulness of allowing initiative by miners to develop mining techniques and systems in a manner compatible with the requirements of the Act and regulations. In this regard, the regulations reflect an approach, pursuant to the Act, whereby their provisions ultimately will be addressed and evaluated on the basis of exploration plans submitted by applicants. (2) In addition, these regulations reflect NOAA's recognition that the difference in scale and effects between exploration for and commercial recovery of hard mineral resources normally requires that they be distinguished and addressed separately. This distinction is also based upon the evolutionary stage of the seabed mining industry referenced above. Thus, NOAA will issue separate regulations pertaining to commercial recovery, in part 971 of this chapter. [46 FR 45896, Sept. 15, 1981; 47 FR 5966, Feb. 9, 1982]