BOEM Extends Public Comment Period on Minerals Lease Sale
On June 12, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced its intent to publish a Request for Information and Interest (RFI) for commercial leasing for Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) seabed critical minerals offshore American Samoa. The Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) originally published the RFI in the Federal Register on Monday, June 16, 2025, initiating a 30-day public comment period.BOEM is extending the comment period until 11:59 p.m. ET on August 15 in response to a request from the Governor of American Samoa.“As we extend the comment period, we
US Launches Public Consultation for Potential Seabed Mineral Lease Sale
The US Department of the Interior has announced the publication of a Request for Information and Interest to explore the potential for seabed mineral leasing offshore American Samoa.The Request for Information, scheduled for publication in the Federal Register in the coming days, will launch a 30-day public comment period and mark the first formal step toward what could be the first mineral lease sale in federal waters in over 30 years.The RFI, issued by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), seeks input from a wide range of voices—American Samoa’s Indigenous community, ocean users
US Launches Process for Offshore Mineral Lease Sale
The US Department of the Interior has announced it is initiating the process to evaluate a potential mineral lease sale in the waters offshore American Samoa.This marks the first such action by Interior in over 30 years and could pave the way for future extraction of critical minerals from the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.“Critical minerals are fundamental to strengthening our nation's resilience and safeguarding our national interests,” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. “By providing opportunities to responsibly access deep-sea mineral resources, we are supporting both
Impossible Metals Seeks Mining Lease Near American Samoa
off the coast of American Samoa.The waters around the Pacific Ocean territory are estimated to contain large amounts of potato-shaped rocks known as polymetallic nodules filled with the building blocks for electric vehicles and electronics.The request from privately held Impossible Metals asks the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management - which oversees mineral deposits in federal waters - to launch a competitive lease process for the American Samoa nodules.A BOEM spokesperson confirmed the request and said the agency will decide by May 23 "whether to initiate steps
Underwater Power Grids Could Revolutionize How the US East Coast Gets Its Electricity
, few support the construction of the transmission lines necessary to get it there. This has always been a problem, both in the U.S. and internationally, but it is becoming an even bigger challenge as countries speed toward net-zero carbon energy systems that will use more electricity.The U.S. Department of Energy and 10 states in the Northeast States Collaborative on Interregional Transmission are working on a potentially transformative solution: plans for an offshore electric power grid.How an offshore transmission backbone could reduce the number of transmission lines and land crossings. (Illustratio
TDI-Brooks Delivers Deepwater Atlantic Habitats II Report
TDI-Brooks has announced that the report for Contract M17PC00009, issued by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is available online.The report is titled “Deepwater Atlantic Habitats II: Continued Atlantic Research and Exploration in Deepwater Ecosystems with Focus on Coral, Canyon and Seep Communities.” It is the final deliverable of the BOEM Contract called Deep SEARCH, conducted in partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey.Initially, the study was a five-year, collaborative scientific research program focused on the outer continental shelf
TDI-Brooks Finalizes Report for Deepwater Atlantic Habitats II
TDI-Brooks International completed the final report for Contract M17PC00009, issued by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management [BOEM]), titled “Deepwater Atlantic Habitats II: Continued Atlantic Research and Exploration in Deepwater Ecosystems with Focus on Coral, Canyon and Seep Communities.” This report is the final deliverable of the BOEM contract called Deep SEARCH, conducted in partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey. Initially, the study was a five-year, collaborative scientific research program focused on the outer continental shelf between Virginia
Enhancing Understanding of Gulf Sediments
Galveston District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) (a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Interior) and the Texas General Land Office (GLO) to streamline and synchronize Gulf of Mexico sediment resource identification data for use in Texas coastal protection and restoration plans and projects.According to the memorandum, a framework will be developed to collect and share data and optimize engineering, economic, and environmental criteria by matching potential sediment sources with future restoration
Ocean Noise: Pile Driving Triggers Alarm Responses in Squid
a first look at how human-made noise can influence natural, ecologically important behaviors of these squid, and we still have much to learn about how these behavioral changes might influence squids’ interactions with predators and with other squid”.This work was funded in part by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Environmental Studies Program through Interagency Agreement Number M17PG00029 with the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate
August 2025
