HAWAII 



Relevant law - 



Revised Laws of 

 Chapter 103. 



Hawaii, title 12 (1955), 



Administering agencies - 



Department of Land and Natural Resources. 

 Board of Land and Natural Resources. 



Exploration rules for minerals - 



No distinction made between hard minerals and 



oil and gas. 

 Permit must be obtained and permittees must 



turn over drill logs and results of assays to 



the Board. 



Leasing acreage - 



AppUcant must file a notice of his desire to 

 apply for a lease on land where discovery is 

 made. A fee of $100.00 is charged. Acreage 

 is prescribed by the Board (which may also 

 deny the lease). Maximum lease covers four 

 square miles but no limit to number of 

 leases. 



Lease term — 

 Not specified. 



Royalty - 



Not specified. 



It is evident that the regulations of various 

 States differ markedly with regard to offshore 

 mineral exploration and exploitation; some coastal 

 States apparently have no provisions for issuing 

 offshore exploration permits. The lack of permit 

 regulations in some States and the lack of uniform 

 regulations among various States and the Federal 

 Government may be a deterrent to offshore 

 mining because it leads to uncertainties over 

 prospectors' rights and lease rights. 



A National Conference of Coastal States was 

 called to meet on Dec. 11-13, 1968 in Portland, 

 Oregon. Representatives of a number of industries 

 interested in coastal waters also participated in the 

 conference. The purpose of the conference was to 

 develop specific guidehnes on hard mineral mining 

 from submerged lands under State control. The 

 results of the conference were unavailable as this 

 report went to press. However, it is hoped that the 



conference considered and recommended action 

 on the problem of providing a permit system that 

 would clarify and safeguard the mineral explorer's 

 rights in areas under State jurisdiction. If the 

 action discussed above was not taken, the panel 

 makes the following recommendation: 



Recommendation: 



The Department of the Interior, in concert with 

 representatives of the mining industry, should 

 develop a model system for assigning minerals 

 exploration and development rights along the lines 

 recommended above, for consideration by the 

 States. The appropriate Federal agency should 

 sponsor a convention of coastal States to consider 

 the model and other legal and economic problems 

 of offshore mining. 



III. PRESENT LEVEL AND STRUCTURE OF 

 GOVERNMENT ACTIVITY 



Programs directly relevant to the development 

 of marine hard mineral resources are conducted by 

 three agencies in the Department of the Interior: 

 Geological Survey, Bureau of Mines, and Bureau of 

 Land Management. The National Science Founda- 

 tion also funds basic oceanographic research proj- 

 ects that contribute to understanding of marine 

 mineral resources, and the Office of Naval Re- 

 search, which focuses its research and activities on 

 the needs of the Navy, underwrites projects related 

 to marine mineral resources. The environmental 

 measurement and charting programs of the Navy 

 and of the Environmental Science Services Admin- 

 istration of the Department of Commerce are also 

 relevant. 



The organization and structure for- developing 

 and managing marine mineral resources at the 

 State level is extremely varied. In some States 

 responsibility is assigned specifically to a single 

 agency, whereas in others it is divided among 

 several agencies. A number of States consider 

 offshore mineral resources a simple extension of 

 onshore authority. Others view the change in the 

 basic environment as requiring additional inter- 

 facing with affected agencies. 



VII-120 



