American Samoa’s governor, residents oppose deep-sea mining proposal

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The federal government’s proposal for deep-sea mining off American Samoa is moving forward, but it faces growing opposition from the territory’s elected officials and residents.

Opponents have taken legal action to halt the plan, with a hearing scheduled in Hawaii.

In July, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued a call for information and nominations for deep-sea mining leases across approximately 31 million acres of ocean waters surrounding American Samoa.

Sabrina Suluai-Mahuka of the environmental organization Finafinau radioed scientists aboard a NOAA ship mapping sea beds off the territory, where researchers are testing whether radon can help locate mineral deposits to further the federal government’s efforts.

“We oppose deep sea mining with every fiber of our being. It doesn’t make sense economically. It doesn’t make sense environmentally, definitely not culturally,” Suluai-Mahuka said. “I think it’s really a reflection of what democracy looks like for the territories. We are technically part of the US, but we don’t have any voting rights. Our consent is clearly not given in this process.”

American Samoa’s governor and other key leaders have also expressed opposition to the proposal, which would be the first commercial-scale ocean mining operation in the world.

“The Trump administration, who doesn’t seem to really care at all about the environmental laws or the impact on the environment, they are rushing forward with this very reckless effort,” said attorney David Henkin of the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice.

The organization filed a lawsuit to block the effort.

Henkin added that mining creates plumes of toxic chemicals, and some of the sediment is discharged into the middle of the ocean, “where a lot of the fish that we like to eat, you know, here in Hawaii, our ahi tuna and other fish are going to be exposed to, again, this toxic sediment.”

State Rep. Elijah Pierick said he sees the benefits of deep-sea mining for batteries and military purposes if the practice is found to not pose severe environmental threats.

But Pierick deferred to the people of American Samoa.

“Any administration needs to respect the locals and their understanding of the environment. So with American Samoas delegates all saying we want to protect our waters, our ecosystem, our way of life, any administration should respect that,” Pierick said.

Earthjustice has a hearing in U.S. District Court in Honolulu at the end of the month.

The deep-sea mining lease sale is scheduled for Nov. 19.