[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4536 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4536

To oppose the permitting of deep seabed mining and exploration for deep 
                 seabed mining, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 11, 2023

Mr. Case (for himself, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Huffman, Ms. Bonamici, Ms. Lee 
 of California, and Ms. Pingree) introduced the following bill; which 
            was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To oppose the permitting of deep seabed mining and exploration for deep 
                 seabed mining, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. OPPOSITION TO PERMITTING OF DEEP SEABED MINING AND 
              EXPLORATION FOR DEEP SEABED MINING.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) As determined by the United Nations, most recently in 
        its Sustainable Development Goals report, our world's oceans 
        are at great risk from a number of factors, including 
        atmospheric change, resource extraction and pollution;
            (2) The United Nation's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable 
        Development, launched by the 2015 UN Summit in New York 
        established Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDS 14), to 
        conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine 
        resources. Target 2 of SDS 14 commits States to sustainably 
        manage marine ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts 
        and strengthen their resilience.
            (3) The international marine scientific and policy 
        consensus is that deep seabed mining presents a major risk to 
        the marine environment, including: the direct loss of unique 
        and ecologically important species; large sediment plumes that 
        will negatively affect ecosystems well beyond the actual mining 
        sites; noise pollution that will cause physiological and 
        behavioral stress to marine species; likely contamination of 
        commercially important species of food fish; and likely 
        negative impacts on carbon sequestration dynamics and deep-
        ocean carbon storage.
            (4) The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, 
        15th Conference of Parties, Decision 15/24 encourages member 
        States to ensure that, before deep seabed mineral exploitation 
        is permitted, the related impacts on the marine environment and 
        biodiversity are sufficiently researched and the risks to the 
        marine ecosystem are sufficiently understood, and sufficient 
        regulation and conditions be imposed to ensure that 
        exploitation does not cause harmful effects to the marine 
        environment and biodiversity.
            (5) The 2022 United Nations Environment Programme Financial 
        Initiative report on deep seabed mining states that the 
        financing of such activities is not consistent with Sustainable 
        Blue Economy Finance Principles.
            (6) There is currently insufficient scientific information 
        on the deep sea and related marine ecosystems to fully and 
        accurately assess the full risks and impacts of deep seabed 
        mining activities.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) no deep seabed mining should occur in the international 
        seabed area unless and until adoption by the International 
        Seabed Authority of a full and binding regulatory framework in 
        accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the 
        Sea, in particular Article 145 of the Convention;
            (2) there is currently insufficient scientific 
        understanding of, and an absence of consensus on, the extent of 
        the risks and impacts of deep seabed mining on ocean and 
        related ecosystems;
            (3) a regulatory framework should only be adopted by the 
        International Seabed Authority on the basis of a comprehensive 
        scientific understanding of, and consensus on, the potential 
        risks and impacts of deep seabed mining on ocean ecosystems and 
        communities and activities reliant on ocean ecosystems, 
        including fisheries, indigenous peoples and coastal 
        communities;
            (4) such a comprehensive scientific understanding and 
        consensus should only be developed on the basis of sufficient 
        scientific baseline information on the full impacts of deep 
        seabed mining on marine and related ecosystems; and
            (5) no deep seabed mining should be permitted in the 
        international seabed area unless it is conducted in a manner 
        and under a clear and enforceable regulatory framework that 
        effectively protects the marine environment from harmful 
        effects, does not pose a risk to communities reliant on ocean 
        ecosystems and prevents damage to the flora and fauna of the 
        marine environment consistent with the obligations in Article 
        145 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and 
        relevant global commitments for the conservation and 
        sustainable use of the marine environment.
    (c) In General.--The President shall, until such time as the 
President submits to the appropriate congressional committees a 
certification described in subsection (d) and a report described in 
subsection (e), direct the United States representative to each 
relevant international organization to which the United States is a 
member or observer to take such actions as may be necessary to use the 
voice, vote, and influence of the United States in such organization 
to--
            (1) call for a moratorium on the permitting of deep seabed 
        mining and exploration for deep seabed mining; and
            (3) oppose investments in or other financing or support of 
        deep seabed mining and exploration for deep seabed mining.
    (d) Certification.--A certification described in this subsection is 
a certification that--
            (1) deep seabed mining regulations have been promulgated by 
        the International Seabed Authority; and
            (2) such regulations--
                    (A) are informed by the scientific consensus on 
                impacts to ocean ecosystems; and
                    (B) will ensure the effective protection of the 
                marine environment from the harmful effects of deep 
                seabed mining.
    (e) Report.--A report described in this subsection is a report that 
includes the following:
            (1) The details of the deep seabed mining regulations 
        promulgated by the International Seabed Authority as described 
        in subsection (d).
            (2) The scientific consensus on the risks and impacts of 
        such regulations on ocean ecosystems and communities reliant on 
        ocean ecosystems.
            (3) The methods by which such regulations ensure the 
        effective protection of the marine environment from harmful 
        effects of deep seabed mining pursuant to subsection (b)(4).
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