[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 55 (Monday, March 23, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13822-13823]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-05599]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[Docket No.: 260313-0081]
RIN 0648-BN96
Deep Seabed Mining: Notice of Receipt of Applications for Deep
Seabed Mining Exploration Licenses and Announcement of Public Comment
Period and Virtual Public Hearings
AGENCY: Office for Coastal Management, National Ocean Service, National
Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of receipt of applications for deep seabed mining
exploration licenses; request for comments; notice of virtual public
hearing.
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SUMMARY: NOAA has received two applications for licenses to conduct
seabed mining exploration activities that are fully compliant with the
applicable information requirements of the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral
Resources Act (DSHMRA or the Act) and the Act's implementing
regulations. As part of the application review process, NOAA will hold
one virtual public hearing on American Metal Resources, LLC's (AMR)
application and one virtual public hearing on SeaX, Inc.'s (SeaX)
application, and will accept written comments on the applications
submitted electronically via the instructions below.
DATES: Comments on the applications must be received by May 22, 2026.
The virtual public hearing for AMR's application is scheduled for April
21, 2026, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time. For SeaX's application,
the virtual public hearing is scheduled for April 22, 2026, from 3 p.m.
to 5 p.m. Eastern Time. Instructions for attending the virtual public
hearings are provided below.
ADDRESSES: The AMR application is electronically available at https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NOS-2026-0034; The SeaX application is
electronically available at https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NOS-2026-0035. You may send comments, identified by docket number, by
either of the following means:
Written Comments
For the AMR application, submit all public written
comments via the Federal regulations.gov e-Portal at https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NOS-2026-0034 or go to
www.regulations.gov and enter ``NOAA-NOS-2026-0034'' in the search bar.
For the SeaX application, submit all public written
comments via the Federal regulations.gov e-Portal at https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NOS-2026-0035 or go to
www.regulations.gov and enter ``NOAA-NOS-2026-0035'' in the search bar.
For each docket, locate the document you wish to comment on from
the resulting list and click on the ``Submit a comment'' icon on the
right of that line. Please note that comments will only be considered
for the docket to which they are submitted. If your comment is in
response to both the AMR application and the SeaX application, you must
submit two comments, one to each docket.
Comments must be submitted by the date and electronic method
described above to ensure that the comments are received, documented,
and considered by NOAA. Comments sent by any other method, to any other
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period,
may not be considered. Comments that are not related to the
applications or that contain profanity, vulgarity, threats, or other
inappropriate language will not be considered. To ensure full
consideration by NOAA, comments must be submitted in English. Comments
that are not submitted in English may not be posted to the public
dockets on regulations.gov, or considered by NOAA. All relevant
comments received are a part of the public record and will generally be
posted for public viewing on www.regulations.gov without change. All
personal identifying information (e.g., name, address) submitted
voluntarily by the sender will be publicly accessible. Do not submit
confidential business information or otherwise sensitive or protected
information. NOAA will accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the
required fields if you wish to remain anonymous).
Virtual Public Hearings
You may submit oral comments for AMR's Application during the April
21, 2026 meeting and oral comments for SeaX's Application during the
April 22, 2026 meeting. Oral comments received during the hearing for
AMR may not be considered as to SeaX, and vice versa.
NOAA will conduct two virtual public hearings via Adobe Connect.
Each person who wants to attend either virtual public hearing must
electronically register by April 21, 2026, 5 p.m. Eastern Time.
Attendance at each virtual public hearing will be limited to 1,000
individuals. Any person who registers and wants to speak at a virtual
public hearing should indicate that they want to speak during
registration. To register for either hearing, use the following link:
https://events-na13.adobeconnect.com/content/connect/c1/2358677976/en/events/event/shared/10627447973/event_landing.html?sco-id=10651739456&_charset_=utf-8.
Any person who registers and wants to
speak at a virtual public hearing should indicate that they want to
speak during registration. Each registered participant will receive an
Adobe Connect link for the virtual public hearing.
Once the virtual public hearing starts, NOAA will describe the
virtual public hearing logistics. NOAA will then start the public
comment part of the virtual public hearing and will call on speakers on
a first come/first served basis through the raised hand function of
Adobe Connect. NOAA will then unmute the person speaking. Each speaker
will have three minutes to speak on the application (AMR application on
April 21, 2026, and SeaX application on April 22, 2026). If a speaker
does not respond when they are called on, NOAA will move to the next
speaker. At the three-minute mark for each speaker, NOAA will mute that
speaker. Speakers cannot allot their time to another speaker. Once all
speakers have spoken, or at the scheduled end of the virtual public
hearing, whichever is earlier, NOAA may end the virtual public hearing.
NOAA retains discretion to extend the virtual public hearing if
appropriate and feasible. NOAA will record each hearing and will
include a transcript of each hearing on the appropriate public docket
for each of the applications on the regulations.gov website at https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NOS-2026-0034 for the AMR application
and at https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NOS-2026-0035 for the
SeaX application. The names provided by each speaker will also be
published as part of the transcripts.
The virtual public hearings do not replace the process for
submission of written comments. NOAA will not respond during the
hearings to oral comments or questions. To ensure full consideration by
NOAA, oral comments must be in English. Comments that are not in
English may not be transcribed or considered by NOAA.
[[Page 13823]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bryan Cole, 301-233-2998,
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 7, 2025, NOAA received an amended
application from AMR for a license to conduct seabed mining exploration
activities within the seabed area beyond national jurisdiction
generally known as the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. NOAA also received an
amended application from SeaX on August 10, 2025. AMR and SeaX are both
subsidiaries of American Metal Resources Inc. NOAA has determined that
these applications are fully compliant with the applicable information
requirements of the Act and its implementing regulations. Under DSHMRA,
NOAA shall publish notice of all license applications and, subject to
applicable public disclosure limitations, interested persons are
afforded the opportunity to examine the relevant application materials
and to submit written and oral comments to NOAA. NOAA has determined
that the AMR and SeaX applications and their associated supplementary
documents are the relevant materials for examination during the notice
of application. 30 U.S.C. 1426(a)(1). These applications and
supplementary documents are electronically available at the locations
listed in the ADDRESSES section. Please note that the statements made
in the applications and supplementary documents do not necessarily
reflect the views of NOAA or the views of the U.S. Government. The
applications also contain maps and coordinates of proposed exploration
areas, portions of which may conflict with areas over which an earlier-
in-time applicant has priority of right. NOAA has determined that AMR
and SeaX only have priority of right for issuance of licenses in areas
that do not conflict with an earlier-in-time applicant.
(Authority: 30 U.S.C. 1426(a)(1).)
Neil A. Jacobs,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA
Administrator National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2026-05599 Filed 3-20-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-08-P