Background:

On April 24, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at making it easier for companies to mine the seafloor, saying it would create "a robust domestic supply for critical minerals." The executive order instructs federal agencies to expedite the process for reviewing and issuing permits for seabed mining in both U.S. and international waters. Separately, on June 25, the Department of the Interior announced that it would fast-track permits for deep-sea mining, potentially with reduced environmental review. 

On June 16, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), now the Marine Minerals Authority or MMA) initiated the first steps that could potentially lead to a lease sale for mining in U.S. federal waters off American Samoa, near the Rose Atoll Marine National Monument. This process was in response to a request by California-based mining company Impossible Metals, which offered a paltry 1% of profit share to the local community. The American Samoa Government is unified in its opposition to deep-sea mining off its coast, and the community members and allies submitted over 75,000 comments opposing the proposal. Despite this, the federal government is moving ahead with the next phase of a lease sale and has announced its completion of the “area identification”  phase of the leasing process, doubling the size of the potential mining area despite the intense local opposition. 

On June 23rd, BOEM issued a Request for Information and Interest for “Commercial Leasing for Outer Continental Shelf Minerals Offshore Virginia,” opening a 30-day public comment period that will close on July 23rd – a deadline that has now been extended to August 22nd. This RFI is an opportunity for the public to share their views and information with the government. It is the first in a series of steps that could lead to dredge mining of heavy mineral sands and phosphorites over an area extending 2,764 square miles, comprising nearly the entire eastern Atlantic shore of Virginia - a stretch of ocean larger than Delaware.

The government has also now issued RFI’s for mining offshore of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and Alaska and is considering exploration permits outside of U.S. waters. A NOAA representative recently indicated that they have received “at least” 10 expressions of interest in seabed mining authorizations. BOEM/MMA’s 2027 Budget Justification indicates that the agency “anticipates holding lease sales during calendar year 2026 and 2027: American Samoa (August 2026), Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) (November 2026), Alaska Region (2027), and Virginia (2027).”

In February, BOEM proposed changes to OCSLA’s implementing regulations that have been criticized for weakening the applicable notice requirements, shortening review timelines, and undermining key environmental protections. A final rulemaking is pending. 

Local & Environmental Impact:

A dredge mining RFI is a demolition notice for nearly all of Virginia’s waters off its eastern shore.

• Marine phosphate and heavy mineral sand mining involves deploying industrial-scale dredging equipment to break up and remove enormous volumes of seafloor material. 
  • Such mining would destroy physical habitat and kill benthic communities, jeopardizing fish, marine mammals, and birds throughout the food web. 
  • Sediment plumes and wastewater can travel far beyond the mining footprint, smothering benthic life, blocking sunlight, and depleting oxygen.
  • Mining can also liberate PCBs, heavy metals, and other contaminants from seafloor sediments, introducing them into the food chain with significant potential impacts on fisheries.
  • It is also possible that changes to seabed topography could impact storm surge, coastal erosion, and shoreline stability, causing rising sea levels and stronger, more destructive storms.
• Virginia’s coast is also home to many federally protected species that would be put at risk by this RFI.
  • Virginia’s offshore waters provide critical habitat for several federally protected species, including North Atlantic right whales, fin whales, humpback whales, four sea turtles, and Atlantic sturgeon.
  • The proposed lease area overlaps with habitat and migratory corridors these species depend on for survival and could disrupt the food webs on which they depend.
  • With populations already under severe pressure, additional industrial disturbance could be devastating.

Dredge mining is reckless, unnecessary, and driven by short-term gain at the expense of long-term planetary health and coastal communities.

• No large-scale marine phosphate mines existed anywhere in the world as of 2025. Other countries have weighed the risks and walked away.
  • Namibia halted a proposed phosphate mine in the early 2010s following local environmental objections and a government moratorium on seabed mining.
  • Mexico rejected environmental permits for marine phosphate mining sought by Odyssey Marine off the coast of Baja California - and was sued by Odyssey.
  • New Zealand rejected applications for marine phosphate mines from the seabed of Chatham Rise off its coast.
  • Each of these governments decided the environmental risks of marine phosphate mines outweigh the benefits.
• Meanwhile, Virginia’s seafood industry is one of the oldest in the United States and one of the most economically important industries in Virginia.
  • Virginia’s seafood industry harvests 50 commercially valuable species, including Blue Crab, Sea Scallops, Menhaden, Clams, Summer Flounder, Striped Bass, Spot, Black Sea Bass, and Blue Catfish.
  • The value of these landings exceeds $266 million annually, and the broader seafood supply chain generates over $1 billion in economic activity for the Commonwealth.
  • Phosphate mining and sand dredging would put these critical resources and the livelihoods of coastal communities at risk.

The proposed lease area raises the prospect of interference with military activities and may conflict with national security interests.

• The Virginia coast is home to the largest concentration of naval operations in the world, supporting military training, submarine operations, air combat training, and missile defense testing.
• The proposed lease also includes a zone formally designated as a “danger zone” containing ”munitions and explosives of concern,” or MEC. This designation indicates the potential presence of unexploded ordnance, discarded military munitions, or munitions constituents at concentrations high enough to pose an explosive hazard.

Across jurisdictions, seabed mining has been opposed by the people most likely to be affected. 

• Nearly all Pacific U.S. states and US territories, including California, Washington, Oregon, Hawai’i, American Samoa, and Guam, have either prohibited, banned, or restricted deep-sea mining within territorial waters.
• Pacific countries and non-U.S. territories have also called for a moratorium on deep-sea mining, including Palau, Fiji, Samoa, Federated States of Micronesia, New Zealand, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Marshall Islands, and the territorial governments of New Caledonia and French Polynesia. 
• Multiple groups associated with the tuna fishery have already called for a pause on deep-sea mining. 
• Norway recently paused all seabed mining development for a minimum of four years following domestic and international backlash.

Take Action:

Register your comments with BOEM prior to the August 22nd deadline! https://www.regulations.gov/document/BOEM-2026-0100-0001

Comment Template:

Geoffrey Wikel 
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Office of Strategic Resources
Marine Minerals Division, 
45600 Woodland Road
Sterling, Virginia 20166

Subject: Opposition to Deep Sea Mining On the Outer Continental Shelf of Virginia (BOEM-2026-0100 RFI Comments)

Dear Mr. Wikel,

I am writing in strong opposition to deep-sea mining on the outer continental shelf of Virginia in response to your RFI (BOEM-2026-0100). This attempt to start a new, speculative form of exploitation is reckless, unnecessary, and prioritizes questionable short-term gain for a few over ocean health needed for all.

Seabed mining risks irreversible harm to ocean ecosystems and the people who rely on them. The marine ecosystems of the RFI Area support species that are vital to coastal communities up and down the Atlantic coast, produce a substantial portion of the United States’ seafood, provide thousands of jobs, and generate over $1 billion of economic activity for the state of Virginia alone. These fish, as well as marine mammals and other sensitive marine life migrating through the mid-Atlantic depend upon a healthy marine environment and are directly threatened by seabed mining operations, particularly given the scale and type of mining contemplated by this RFI.

Dredge mining of heavy mineral sands and phosphorites would involve deploying industrial-scale dredging equipment to break up and remove enormous volumes of seafloor. It would destroy the ocean bottom and potentially release metals and other pollutants into the coastal waters; and it would occur over an area extending 2,764 square miles, comprising nearly the entire eastern Atlantic shore of Virginia – a stretch of ocean larger than Delaware.

A global consensus urges caution: 40 countries, over 65 major corporations, 37 financial institutions, and over 940 marine experts call for a moratorium on seabed mining, citing its environmental dangers and shaky economics.

Critically, Americans in regions most reliant on ocean resources also oppose seabed mining. Nearly all U.S. Pacific States and territories, including Hawaii alongside California, Washington, Oregon, American Samoa, and Guam, have restricted or banned deep-sea mining.

The U.S. must not lead a "race to the bottom" and should refuse to put Virginia and its neighbors’ vital maritime environment at risk. High costs are assured, but returns are not, particularly for the coastal communities depending on healthy waters and productive fisheries.

For these reasons, I urge BOEM to abandon any seabed mineral leasing plans in Virginia.

Sincerely,

[Your Name/Organization Name]