§ 1412. — Licenses for exploration and permits for commercial recovery.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 30USC1412]
TITLE 30--MINERAL LANDS AND MINING
CHAPTER 26--DEEP SEABED HARD MINERAL RESOURCES
SUBCHAPTER I--REGULATION OF EXPLORATION AND COMMERCIAL RECOVERY BY
UNITED STATES CITIZENS
Sec. 1412. Licenses for exploration and permits for commercial
recovery
(a) Authority to issue
Subject to the provisions of this chapter, the Administrator shall
issue to applicants who are eligible therefor licenses for exploration
and permits for commercial recovery.
(b) Nature of licenses and permits
(1) A license or permit issued under this subchapter shall authorize
the holder thereof to engage in exploration or commercial recovery, as
the case may be, consistent with the provisions of this chapter, the
regulations issued by the Administrator to implement the provisions of
this chapter, and the specific terms, conditions, and restrictions
applied to the license or permit by the Administrator.
(2) Any license or permit issued under this subchapter shall be
exclusive with respect to the holder thereof as against any other United
States citizen or any citizen, national or governmental agency of, or
any legal entity organized or existing under the laws of, any
reciprocating state.
(3) A valid existing license shall entitle the holder, if otherwise
eligible under the provisions of this chapter and regulations issued
under this chapter, to a permit for commercial recovery. Such a permit
recognizes the right of the holder to recover hard mineral resources,
and to own, transport, use, and sell hard mineral resources recovered,
under the permit and in accordance with the requirements of this
chapter.
(4) In the event of interference with the exploration or commercial
recovery activities of a licensee or permittee by nationals of other
states, the Secretary of State shall use all peaceful means to resolve
the controversy by negotiation, conciliation, arbitration, or resort to
agreed tribunals.
(c) Restrictions
(1) The Administrator may not issue--
(A) any license or permit after the date on which an
international agreement is ratified by and enters into force with
respect to the United States, except to the extent that issuance of
such license or permit is not inconsistent with such agreement;
(B) any license or permit the exploration plan or recovery plan
of which, submitted pursuant to section 1413(a)(2) of this title,
would apply to an area to which applies, or would conflict with, (i)
any exploration plan or recovery plan submitted with any pending
application to which priority of right for issuance applies under
section 1413(b) of this title, (ii) any exploration plan or recovery
plan associated with any existing license or permit, or (iii) any
equivalent authorization which has been issued, or for which formal
notice of application has been submitted, by a reciprocating state
prior to the filing date of any relevant application for licenses or
permits pursuant to this subchapter;
(C) a permit authorizing commercial recovery within any area of
the deep seabed in which exploration is authorized under a valid
existing license if such permit is issued to other than the licensee
for such area;
(D) any exploration license before July 1, 1981, or any permit
which authorizes commercial recovery to commence before January 1,
1988;
(E) any license or permit the exploration plan or recovery plan
for which applies to any area of the deep seabed if, within the 3-
year period before the date of application for such license or
permit, (i) the applicant therefor surrendered or relinquished such
area under an exploration plan or recovery plan associated with a
previous license or permit issued to such applicant, or (ii) a
license or permit previously issued to the applicant had an
exploration plan or recovery plan which applied to such area and
such license or permit was revoked under section 1416 of this title;
or
(F) a license or permit, or approve the transfer of a license or
permit, except to a United States citizen.
(2) No permittee may use any vessel for the commercial recovery of
hard mineral resources or for the processing at sea of hard mineral
resources recovered under the permit issued to the permittee unless the
vessel is documented under the laws of the United States.
(3) Each permittee shall use at least one vessel documented under
the laws of the United States for the transportation from each mining
site of hard mineral resources recovered under the permit issued to the
permittee.
(4) For purposes of the shipping laws of the United States, any
vessel documented under the laws of the United States and used in the
commercial recovery, processing, or transportation from any mining site
of hard mineral resources recovered under a permit issued under this
subchapter shall be deemed to be used in, and used in an essential
service in, the foreign commerce or foreign trade of the United States,
as defined in section 1244(a) of title 46, Appendix, and shall be deemed
to be a vessel as defined in section 1271(b) of title 46, Appendix.
(5) Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, the processing
on land of hard mineral resources recovered pursuant to a permit shall
be conducted within the United States: Provided, That the President does
not determine that such restrictions contravene the overriding national
interests of the United States. The Administrator may allow the
processing of hard mineral resources at a place other than within the
United States if he finds, after opportunity for an agency hearing,
that--
(A) the processing of the quantity concerned of such resource at
a place other than within the United States is necessary for the
economic viability of the commercial recovery activities of a
permittee; and
(B) satisfactory assurances have been given by the permittee
that such resource, after processing, to the extent of the
permittee's ownership therein, will be returned to the United States
for domestic use, if the Administrator so requires after determining
that the national interest necessitates such return.
(Pub. L. 96-283, title I, Sec. 102, June 28, 1980, 94 Stat. 558.)
References in Text
The shipping laws of the United States, referred to in subsec.
(c)(4), are classified generally to Title 46, Shipping, and Title 46,
Appendix.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 1413, 1428 of this title.
