Earthjustice sues feds over deep-sea mining plans in American Samoa
- Admin
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
A large environmental coalition today sued the federal government in a bid to halt the proposed sale of leases that would allow mining on over 31 million acres of seabed surrounding American Samoa.
Earthjustice, Fa‘asao Amerika Samoa and the Conservation Council for Hawaii are seeking an injunction against the National Marine Fisheries Service’s decision to greenlight the Marine Mineral Agency’s plan to award deep-sea mining contracts in November.
“Mining activities—whether at the testing phase or production phase—involve scouring the seabed to extract nodules,” states the lawsuit filed with the District Court of Hawaii.
“Mining equipment stirs up toxic sediment and kills the biota in its path. Mining disturbance studies have found that impacts to the ecosystem persist
for at least 44 years, with estimates that ecosystem recovery will take over 100 years.”
The coalition alleged that the federal fishery agency made an “arbitrary and capricious” determination that deep-sea mining will "not likely to adversely affect" any critical habitat in American Samoa's waters without making an assessment as required under the Endangered Species Act.
“The Samoan people rely on a healthy ocean ecosystem in the waters surrounding their islands,” the lawsuit states. “This ecosystem feeds Samoan households, protects shorelines and has formed the basis of many cultural practices that have existed for over a millennium.”
If the lease proposal succeeds, American Samoa’s seabed would be the first Pacific area where the U.S would launch the Trump administration’s bid to "unleash" America’s potential to explore offshore mineral elements and outpace China’s headway in the race to the Pacific’s ocean floor.
The Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the Pacific, abundant in polymetallic nodules essential for energy technology, holds the potential for a $20 trillion industry.
Environmental groups, however, warned that the prize of the race comes at a cost for American Samoa.
“The machinery can destroy nearly all life in its path. Mining stirs up sediments that can introduce toxic substances into the food web and smother seafloor ecosystems, such as coral reefs, 100 kilometers (over 60 miles) away,” states the lawsuit.
Earthjustice said deep-sea mining proposes to extract metals from some of the deepest and most unexplored parts of the ocean using unproven technology.
“While much is known about the environmental destruction these largely untested activities pose, the full extent of potential harm is still coming into view.”
Earthjustice cited scientists' position that biodiversity loss and habitat destruction will be irreversible if mining using the proposed methods were to advance at scale.
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“For generations, our ancestors stewarded these waters with care and restraint. Deep-seabed mining would harm the ecosystems that sustain us, endangering our measina – species sacred to the Samoan culture,” said Seumalu Dr. Elora Raymond, spokesperson for Fa’asao Amerika Samoa.
“Our oceans are not an underutilized tool for profit but a treasure that holds cultural significance and provides sustenance for Pacific Island communities,” said Jonee Peters, executive director of the Conservation Council for Hawaii. “We cannot sacrifice the value of our oceans and cherished marine species to an inherently destructive infant industry.”
Chris Eaton, a senior attorney with Earthjustice’s Oceans Program, criticized the Trump administration for barreling ahead with plans, which he said: "will sacrifice one of the most important and pristine ecosystems on the planet in the pursuit of a reckless deep-sea mining experiment."
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