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Honorable Frederick B. Dent 
3 June 1974 
Page 3 
We would like to know whether your attention to 
this problem area has been merely a token one or whether 
there has been any serious consideration and any develop- 
ment of actual plans to solve your problem, in other 
words, whether your efforts have really "made it to sea.” 
We would also appreciate being advised how the 
functional responsibilities of NOAA have been adapted 
to the program, how NOAA capabilities have contributed 
thereto, whether the recent discontinuation of the Marine 
Mining Technology Center at Tiburon indicates a lack of 
concern for the problem area, whether there have been 
any results to date, and whether the degree of effort is 
consistent with the "in any event by 1975 at the latest” 
deadline. 
The only report we have thus far seen is the "En- 
vironmental Impact of Deep Sea Mining, Progress Report, ” 
by Dr. Oswald A. Roels of May 1973. That report, a 
summary of which was included in the 1973 "Mineral 
Resources of the Deep Seabed” hearings by the Subcommittee 
on Minerals, Materials, and Fuels of the Senate Committee 
on Interior and Insular Affairs, consisted primarily of 
a literature review of the properties of the sea floor 
and water column in certain areas of the ocean. It 
did, however, also include what was called a technical 
plan, devised to furnish the information necessary for 
a final environmental impact statement. While that 
suggested plan might be criticized as being too long 
drawn out, it did at least represent a concrete suggestion 
for handling the problem. As to that plan, and your 
consideration thereof, we would appreciate answers to the 
following specific questions: 
