Guiding the ocean search process: Applying public land experience to the design of leasing and permitting systems for ocean mining and ocean shipwrecks

Abstract

The federal administration of the Mining Law of 1872 and of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 offers a wealth of experience on the public lands that should be taken into account in managing ocean resources that are similarly under government control. The government has faced a conflict between policy goals because the earlier assurance of development rights stimulates exploration but also makes it more difficult to assure environmental protection. Greater public expenditures for planning and advance information gathering may reduce such conflicts but are limited in their extent by economic considerations. This article analyzes past government attempts to deal with such issues in leasing offshore and onshore oil, and gas, coal, and in the administration of the “hardrock”; claim and patent system. The article suggests alternative ways of sequencing the acquisition of minerals and environmental information in the design of future systems for managing ocean resources.