e The Bureau of Land Management has proposed 
a planning program for the acquisition and 
evaluation of management information and for 
coordinated intergovernmental management plan- 
ning regarding leasing and transportation of OCS 
oil and gas. The proposal would establish Regional 
Working Groups in each leasing area composed 
of representatives from the affected States, BLM, 
NOAA, Fish and Wildlife Service, Geological 
Survey, the U.S. Coast Guard, industry, and other 
interests as appropriate. 
® In July 1977, BLM published proposed regula- 
tions for OCS Leasing Environmental Studies.*? 
These regulations formalize the current program 
which began in 1972. The regulations govern the 
timing and nature of the BLM studies as needed 
for assessment and management of impacts on 
marine and coastal environments of the OCS 
resulting from oil and gas leasing. NOAA will be 
used to the extent practicable. 
e On October 4, 1977, U.S. Geological Survey 
regulations were established for OCS oil and gas 
operations—suspension procedures. The regula- 
tions detail the procedures for suspension of oper- 
ations due to threat of significant irreparable 
damage to life, property, or natural resources. 
e On the same day, October 4, 1977, BLM pro- 
posed regulations for OCS oil and gas lease— 
suspension and the 5-year term, were also com- 
pleted. The proposed rule clarifies the way in 
which the term of an OCS oil and gas lease runs 
when it is subject to a suspension. The purpose 
of this rule-making was for consistency with the 
Geological Survey suspension regulations. 
© In September 1977, the U.S. Geological Survey 
published in the Federal Register proposed regu- 
lations for the Outer Continental Shelf Oil and 
Gas Information Program.** The proposed regu- 
lations describe policies, procedures, and require- 
ments for specifying relevant oil and gas data and 
information resulting from OCS activities that may 
be made available to affected States and local 
governments. 
® On the same date, the Bureau of Land Manage- 
ment published its proposed rules for an OCS leas- 
ing oil and gas information program.** These rules 
also deal with the release of information to the 
States for their use in determining impacts and 
planning accordingly. 
® In the same month, Geological Survey published 
proposed regulations for oil and gas and sulphur 
operations on the Outer Continental Shelf (a 
revision of existing operating regulations for ex- 
ploration, development, and production on the 
OCS).*° The proposed regulations provide policies, 
procedures, and requirements for affording States 
timely access to information related to onshore 
and offshore activities. They also prescribe mech- 
anisms for review and comments on OCS deci- 
sions. They deal in specific terms with exploration 
and development plans and environmental reports 
to be submitted by the lessee. The regulations pro- 
vide. items to be assessed for determining whether 
or not an environmental impact statement is re- 
quired for a development and production plan. 
They further list criteria for determining when a 
general area statement will be required. 
Deep Seabed Mining 
Introduction 
The deep seabed areas of the oceans, beyond the 
continental margins, contain mineral deposits known 
as manganese nodules. These mineral resources, 
some of which are found in water depths greater 
than 15,000 feet, contain cobalt, copper, manganese, 
nickel, and other metals. Commercial interest in 
manganese nodules has been increasing since the 
1960s in the United States, as well as in a number 
of other industrialized countries. Millions of research 
and_development dollars have been committed by 
private industry to the discovery of prime-quality 
deposits, the design and testing of mining recovery 
systems, and the development of metallurgical proc- 
essing techniques for extracting the key metal com- 
ponents from the nodule ores. The technological lead- 
ers in this new industry have established commercial 
° Federal Register, Vol. 42, No. 133, Tuesday, July 12, 1977. 
detailed exploration and prototypeequipment.testing 
leading toward full-scale production. 
Today, ocean mining stands on the threshold of 
becoming a reality. But the continuing absence of a 
stable legal and political.framework in which these 
activities may occur results in serious questions as 
to whether this transformation will take place in a 
timely manner or be indefinitely delayed. The un- 
certainty arises from the location of proposed ocean 
mining operations—beyond the national jurisdiction 
of_anycountry. While the international community 
has been attempting for many years to create a new 
legal framework for minerals exploitation in the 
deep seabed, no agreement has yet been reached. 
Recent developments have increased the uncertainty 
that the negotiations can be successfully concluded. 
81 Federal Register, Vol. 42, No. 186, Monday, September 26, 
1977. 
“4 Tbid. 
8° Federal Register, Vol. 42, No. 187, Tuesday, September 27, 
1977. 
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