National Seabed Hard Minerals Act of 1988

(Reported to House from Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries with amendment, H. Rept. 100-1103)

Title I: General Provisions - National Seabed Hard Minerals Act of 1988 - Sets forth the findings, purposes, and definitions of this Act.

Title II: Resource and Environmental Assessment Consultation - Requires the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere (in cooperation with the Assistant Secretary for Water and Science of the Department of the Interior) to a conduct a comprehensive research program to support U.S. seabed activities related to: (1) environmental assessment; (2) mapping and charting; and (3) evaluation of hard mineral resources. Mandates that such program include governmentally sponsored studies and the encouragement of private seabed studies. Requires the Under Secretary and the Assistant Secretary to prepare, and subsequently revise, a five-year plan to carry out such a program.

Mandates that such program include a priorities schedule under which the commonwealths, territories, and possessions of the United States shall be treated equally with other States. Requires the Under Secretary to undertake a public education program regarding the national seabed and its resources.

Requires the Secretary to establish, upon request, a task force for each coastal State to provide a forum for State and local consultation and advice associated with recovery of hard minerals from the U.S. seabed. Provides for regional cooperation and coordination, including the establishment of a multistate task force if the Under Secretary determines that two or more coastal States share regional interests.

Directs the Under Secretary to establish criteria for designating: (1) preservational stable reference areas (SRAs) in regulations governing exploration activities; and (2) impact SRAs in regulations governing commercial recovery activities. Requires a preservational SRA designated, within three years after issuance of a license, for study of the environmental effects of seabed hard mineral resource activities on the marine environment. (A preservational SRA is preserved from the effects of exploration, commercial activity, and other anthropogenic activities in order to provide a control area for environmental assessment.) Requires an impact SRA designated, no later than the issuance of a permit, for study of the environmental effects of commercial recovery activities on the marine environment. (An impact SRA is a seabed area near a proposed commercial recovery site, close enough to be affected by anthropogenic activities.)

Authorizes the Under Secretary to enter into agreements with any coastal State regarding seabed activities.

Title III: Licenses and Permits - Restricts the issuance of exploration licenses, and commercial recovery permits for national seabed hard minerals to U.S. citizens or entities organized under United States laws.

Provides for: (1) priority of right for the issuance of such licenses and permits; (2) applications, including certification of certain criteria and payment of administrative fees, for such licenses and permits; and (3) terms, conditions, and restrictions in licenses and permits (including duration, royalty, environmental, safety, and consultation requirements).

States that the issuance, but not the certification, of a license or permit is a major Federal action for purposes of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (thereby requiring an environmental impact statement).

Requires notification and consultation with the Governor of each affected State at specified times during the licensing and permit issuing process. Provides for negotiation of disputes arising out of such consultations, including the formation of joint dispute resolution panels.

Provides for modification, revision, relinquishment, revocation, and suspension of activities under a license or permit.

Declares that only: (1) U.S.-flag vessels may be used in exploration; (2) U.S.-built, U.S.-flag vessels may be used in commercial resource recovery; and (3) U.S.-built and continuously 75 percent U.S.-owned U.S.-flag vessels may be used in a support capacity.

Authorizes the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere to grant pipeline rights-of-way through seabed areas for transportation of hard mineral resources.

Grants the United States, in time of war or whenever the President prescribes, the right of first refusal to purchase at market price any or all material recovered from the seabed, or any derivative product. Declares that the United States reserves the right, through the Secretary of Defense, with the President's approval, to restrict seabed areas from exploration or commercial recovery for reasons of national defense. Reserves to the United States all uranium, thorium and other source materials under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 found on or below the seabed surface.

Provides for the distribution of royalties between the Federal and State governments.

Title IV: Enforcement, Private Actions for Equitable Relief, and Administrative Procedure - Sets forth prohibited activities under this Act. Provides for: (1) enforcement of this Act, including liability in rem of vessels and civil forfeiture; (2) civil and criminal penalties for violations of such prohibited acts; and (3) private actions, including injunction and the awarding of attorney fees and costs, for equitable relief.

Title V: Miscellaneous - Provides for: (1) the promulgation of regulations; and (2) certain biennial reports by the Secretary to the Congress. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1991 for: (1) resource evaluation of the U.S. seabed; (2) mapping and environmental assessment; and (3) public education, dissemination of information, and research.

States that this Act supersedes a specified provision of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act authorizing the leasing of minerals other than oil, gas, and sulfur in the Outer Continental Shelf. Recognizes the rights and duties of other nations under international law.

Authorizes the Secretary of State to negotiate agreements under this Act upon the request of any freely associated state pursuant to a specified compact between the United States and the Governments of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia.