Environmental Regulation in an International Arena 
The United States will not be alone in deepsea de- 
velopment; therefore, our domestic controls will not 
ensure environmental protection. Other nations’ en- 
vironmental values are often not as advanced as our 
own. This is no new problem, and history illustrates 
the problems for environmental regulation in this 
type of situation, e.g., the International Whaling 
sultative . Organization CIMCOY, and so on. The | 
factors signalling problems for Saunoamental regula- 
tion is lengthy indeed. 
Until the international community demonstrates an 
intention for strict environmental regulation, one pro- 
cedure for the United States is through our own legis- 
lation, thereby extending the reach of our control in 
the environmental area. As previously mentioned, 
U.S. national controls would not ensure environ- 
al n, but they could be effective. Proper 
U.S? ‘controls “could result in tighter environmental 
standards for U.S. industry techniques and tech- 
nology. Established, successful U.S. standards could 
possibly strengthen our position in international 
negotiations for environmental regulations.1°°107 
In international negotiations, the United States 
should place emphasis on the right of participating 
countries to establish their own standards; higher, if 
desirable, than those of the Authority. 
A closely related question and one of concern 
deals with enforcement authority for international 
standards. Traditionally, international agencies have 
not been vested with enforcement powers. Mecha- 
nisms and procedures should be clearly spelled out. 
Lack of Environmental Effects Information WN 
Deep-sea mining has loomed over the horizon Jong 
enough for environmental_assessment to have been 
well underway. A unique opportunity was offered for 
assessment and environmental guidelines to precede 
technological developm ent and operational activities. 
The entire environmental effort, prior to 1976, 
however, was largely unsatisfactory. The Deep 
Ocean Mining Environmental Study (DOMES). by 
NOAA (officially begun. in. fiscal.year1976)..has 
involved close coordination with industry and should 
provide sound information “for future decisions. 
DOMES is a component project of NOAA’s Ma- 
rine Ecosystems Analysis (MESA) Program.1°**°9 It’ 
was designed to identify potential marine environ- 
mental impacts to be expected from commercial 
mining of deep ocean manganese nodules. 
16 E. Richardson, op. cit. note 103. 
7 Richard Frank, op. cit. note 24. 
Richard Frank, op. cit. note 24. 
™ U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA. Management Plan 
for Marine Ecosystems Analysis (MESA) Program. Environ- 
mental Research Laboratories’ MESA Program Office, Boulder, 
Colo., 1977. 
Phase I of DOMES officially began in 1976 with 
some related research conducted in 1974 and 1975. 
In addition to providing a quantitative baseline, the 
first phase was to identify major processes controlling 
the distribution and abundance of marine organisms 
and to provide information for development of pre- 
dictive models on the environmental effects of ocean 
mining. The guidelines resulting from this study, now 
im preparation, will suggest means of minimizing ad- 
verse mining impacts. Phase I field operations ended 
in November 1976, and the final interpretation of the 
studies was completed in January 1978. In the 
meantime, an analysis of potential mining impacts, 
using information available through mid-July of 
1976, was published in April 1977. Baseline studies 
of Phase I have been carried out at three sites within 
an area of the Pacific currently considered a primary 
industry target. 
Phase II is designed to monitor the prototype 
mining equipment tests and to refine the guidelines 
resulting from Phase I. It will also provide data for 
refinement of our predictive capability. Phase II 
began in 1978; the mining industry began its proto- 
type testing early in 1978. 
In 1975, the Congress directed NOAA to include 
assessment of processing facility impacts on land or 
at sea. Contract reports have been prepared for 
NOAA.?"° The reports, based on existing available 
information, identify and describe production facil- 
ities that will likely be required by the first-generation 
nodule mining industry and possible transportation 
and waste disposal alternatives. Information in these 
reports will help in assessments of impacts on land 
and at sea and will be used for followup impact assess- 
ments. The possibility exists for some processing at 
sea, at least in the second-generation efforts. This is 
another opportunity to assess first and thereby guide 
development of techniques and sites; the result re- 
mains to be seen. Research on environmental effects 
will no doubt continue to be Tess than “maximally 
effective until agency jurisdiction is establisl 
a cohesive program adequately funded_and_ imple- 
mented, 
State of Knowledge Concerning Possible Impacts 
There are three broad areas of impact to be dealt 
with: 
e Benthic environment—the seafloor and the life 
dwelling on it, 
@ Pelagic environment—the water column and the 
organisms associated with it, and 
© Site processing—at sea or on land. 
119 Dames and Moore and EIC Corp. Description of Manganese 
Nodule Pzocessing Activities for Environmental Studies, Vol- 
ume I, Processing Systems Summary; Volume II, Transportation 
and Waste Disposal Systems; a contract report prepared for the 
U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA Office of Marine Min- 
erals, August 1977. 
VI-29 
