[House Report 104-673]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



104th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 2d Session                                                     104-673
_______________________________________________________________________


 
              MINING AND MINERAL RESOURCES INSTITUTES ACT

                                _______
                                

 July 12, 1996.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Young of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 3249]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 3249) to authorize appropriations for a mining institute 
to develop domestic technological capabilities for the recovery 
of minerals from the nation's seabed, and for other purposes, 
having considered the same, report favorably thereon with 
amendments and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.
    The amendments are as follows:
    Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu 
thereof the following:

SECTION 1. SEABED MINERALS.

    (a) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 2(a) of the Mining 
and Mineral Resources Research Institute Act of 1984 (30 U.S.C. 
1222(a)) is amended by adding the following at the end thereof:

``There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary not more than 
$1,800,000 for each of the fiscal years after fiscal year 1996 to be 
made available by the Secretary to an institute or institutes 
experienced in investigating the continental shelf regions of the 
United States, the deep seabed and near shore environments of islands, 
and the Arctic and cold water regions as a source for nonfuel minerals. 
Such funds are to be used by the institute or institutes to assist in 
developing domestic technological capabilities required for the 
location of, and the efficient and environmentally sound recovery of, 
minerals (other than oil and gas) from the Nation's shallow and deep 
seabed.''.
    (b) Short Title.--Section 11 of such Act (30 U.S.C. 1201 note) is 
amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 11. SHORT TITLE.

    ``This Act may be cited as the `Mining and Mineral Resources 
Institutes Act'.''.

    Amend the title so as to read:

    A bill to authorize appropriations for a mining institute or 
institutes to develop domestic technological capabilities for the 
recovery of minerals from the Nation's seabed, and for other purposes.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of H.R. 3249 is to authorize appropriations for 
a mining institute or institutes to develop domestic 
technological capabilities for the recovery of nonfuel minerals 
from the Nation's seabed.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    Title III of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act 
of 1977 (SMCRA, 30 U.S.C. 1221 et seq.) created a Mining and 
Mineral Resources Research Institutes program in cooperation 
with universities and the Department of the Interior. The 
program was reauthorized in 1984 and again in 1988 with some 
seven ``generic centers'' specializing in certain subject 
matter areas and thirty schools qualifying for allotment grants 
to promote graduate student education in mineral sciences and 
allied fields.
    The Marine Minerals Generic Technology Centers of the 
Minerals Institute program were first established in 1984 
(Public Law 98-409), located at the University of Hawaii and 
the University of Mississippi, specialize in deep ocean basins 
and continental shelf minerals research, respectively. The U.S. 
Bureau of Mines, before its termination in fiscal year 1996 
under the Balanced Budget Downpayment Act (Public Law 104-99), 
oversaw the cumulative budget of the minerals institute 
program, amounting to about $4.5 million in allotment grants in 
the last year of authorization, fiscal year 1994.
    Although SMCRA did not originally contemplate establishment 
of the marine minerals technology centers, they were added on 
to the institutes program by a Congress interested in funding 
research efforts to maintain a U.S. lead in deep ocean mining 
technology after President Reagan established a 200-mile wide 
exclusive economic zone beyond our seaward territorial 
boundaries. Furthermore, awareness of the Law of the Sea 
Treaty, albeit unsigned by the U.S., and its provisions for 
future deep seabed mining, kept Congressional interest in 
marine minerals issues alive.
    Much of our domestic industry's interest in mining 
manganese nodules for their base metals content from the 
abyssal depths of the Pacific Ocean has waned since the 1980s. 
However, interest in characterizing other metal-bearing oxide 
and sulfide crusts from the deep ocean floor, identifying 
unexploded ordnance from military activities and locating 
mineral materials for beach replenishment projects has grown. 
The dormancy, or outright disbanding, of industry consortia 
established to share the risks of the development of deep ocean 
sea floor mining exploration and production means that 
corporate sponsorship of marine minerals technology research is 
less likely than over the last decade. Yet, other nations view 
marine mining technology as a strategic necessity because they 
lack onshore sources of these metals.
    Increasingly, state and local governments are seeking 
coastal protection solutions via beach replenishment projects 
using sand, gravel and shell resources mined from the Outer 
Continental Shelf. The Minerals Management Service, tapped by 
Secretary Babbitt to manage the marine minerals technology 
center program funding which was obligated prior to the closure 
of the Bureau of Mines, is heavily involved in identifying this 
resource in Federal waters.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 3249 was introduced on April 16, 1996, by Congressmen 
Neil Abercrombie (D-HI) and Roger Wicker (R-MS). The bill was 
referred to the Committee on Resources, and within the 
Committee to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.
    On May 9, 1996, the Subcommittee held a hearing on H.R. 
3249. Dr. Tom Kitsos, then Program Director of the Office of 
International Activities and Marine Minerals of the Minerals 
Management Service, testified for the Administration in general 
support of the goals of the legislation. Dr. Michael J. 
Cruickshank, Director of the Ocean Basins Division (Hawaii), 
and Dr. J. Robert Woolsey, Director of the Continental Shelf 
Division (Mississippi), both of the Marine Minerals Technology 
Center, testified in support of the bill with detailed addenda 
outlining former research efforts and its benefits.
    On June 19, 1996, the Full Resources Committee discharged 
H.R. 3249 from further consideration by the Subcommittee on 
Energy and Mineral Resources for consideration by the full 
Committee on Resources. Congressman Abercrombie offered an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute. The amendment 
clarified his original intent to authorize more than one 
institute to assist in developing domestic technological 
capabilities required for the location of, and efficient and 
environmentally sound recovery of, nonfuel minerals from the 
continental shelf regions of the U.S., the deep seabed and near 
shore environment of islands, and Arctic and cold water 
regions. The amendment was adopted and the bill, as amended, 
ordered reported favorably to the House of Representatives by 
voice vote.

            Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations

    With respect to the requirements of clause 2(l)(3) of rule 
XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, and clause 
2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, 
the Committee on Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

                     Inflationary Impact Statement

    Pursuant to clause 2(l)(4) of rule XI of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee estimates that the 
enactment of H.R. 3249 will have no significant inflationary 
impact on prices and costs in the operation of the national 
economy.

                        Cost of the Legislation

    Clause 7(a) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the 
Committee of the costs which would be incurred in carrying out 
H.R. 3249. However, clause 7(d) of that Rule provides that this 
requirement does not apply when the Committee has included in 
its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill 
prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office 
under section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

                     Compliance With House Rule XI

    1. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(B) of 
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, H.R. 
3249 does not contain any new budget authority, credit 
authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or tax 
expenditures. The bill authorizes increased discretionary 
spending of $7 million over the 1997-2002 time period, assuming 
appropriation of the amounts authorized.
    2. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(D) of 
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee has received no report of oversight findings and 
recommendations from the Committee on Government Reform and 
Oversight on the subject of H.R. 3249.
    3. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(C) of 
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the 
Committee has received the following cost estimate for H.R. 
3249 from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, June 28, 1996.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources, House of Representatives, Washington, 
        DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
reviewed H.R. 3249, the Mining and Mineral Resources Institutes 
Act, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Resources on 
June 19, 1996.
    H.R. 3249 would authorize to be appropriated to the 
Secretary of the Interior not more than $1.8 million for each 
of the fiscal years after fiscal year 1996. These funds are to 
be made available for a mining institute or institutes to 
develop technologies for the recovery of minerals from the 
nation's seabed. CBO estimates that enacting this bill would 
increase discretionary spending by $1.8 million a year 
beginning in fiscal year 1997 and by about $7 million over the 
1997-2000 period, assuming appropriation of the specified 
amounts. Because H.R. 3249 would not affect direct spending or 
receipts, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply to the bill.
    H.R. 3249 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in Public Law 104-4 and would impose no 
costs on state, local, or tribal governments. CBO expects that 
the appropriations authorized by this bill would be used to 
fund institutes located at state universities.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The staff contacts are Victoria Heid 
(for federal costs), and Marjorie Miller (for the state and 
local government impact).
            Sincerely,
                                         June E. O'Neill, Director.

                    Compliance With Public Law 104-4

    H.R. 3249 contains no unfunded mandates.

                          Departmental Reports

    The Committee has received no departmental reports on H.R. 
3249.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

    In compliance with clause 3 of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

      MINING AND MINERAL RESOURCES RESEARCH INSTITUTE ACT OF 1984

          * * * * * * *

                      research funds to institutes

    Sec. 2 (a) There is authorized to be appropriated to the 
Secretary not more than $15,000,000 for each of the fiscal 
years ending September 30, 1990, through September 30, 1994, 
which shall remain available until expended. Such funds when 
appropriated shall be made available to an institute or to 
institutes participating in a generic mineral technology center 
to meet the necessary expenses for purposes of--
    (1) * * *
          * * * * * * *
    There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary not 
more than $1,200,000 for each of the fiscal years after fiscal 
year 1996 to be made available by the Secretary to an institute 
experienced in investigating the shallow and deep seabed as a 
source for nonfuel minerals to be used by the institute to 
assist in developing domestic technological capabilities 
required for the location of, and the efficient and 
environmentally sound recovery of, minerals (other than oil and 
gas) from the nation's shallow and deep seabed.
          * * * * * * *

[SEC. 11. SHORT TITLE OF ACT.

    [This Act may be cited as the Mining and Mineral Resources 
Research Institute Act of 1984.]

SEC. 11. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Mining and Mineral Resources 
Institutes Act''.