WASHINGTON — The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has recommended moving forward with deep-sea mining leases covering approximately 69.1 million acres of ocean surrounding the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, nearly double the area originally proposed in November 2025.
A signed internal memorandum dated March 13 shows BOEM’s Pacific Regional Director Douglas P. Boren recommended the expanded Area Identification to the agency’s acting director, who concurred. The recommendation covers two geographically distinct zones: 35.5 million acres east of the CNMI, consistent with the original Request for Information, and an additional 33.6 million acres to the west, added after industry companies expressed interest in that area. The western zone is as close as 57 miles from Saipan and46 miles from Guam.
Both the CNMI and Guam governments opposed or conditionally opposed the expanded proposal. Governor Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero of Guam, Lieutenant Governor Joshua F. Tenorio and top Guam government leaders submitted letters calling for a halt to the leasing process and the initiation of a regional Environmental Impact Statement. The Guam Legislature passed a resolution reaffirming a moratorium on deep-sea mining.
Governor David M. Apatang of the CNMI said he would not support advancing the process without comprehensive scientific baseline data, a full EIS and meaningful government-to-government consultation.
Neither the CNMI nor Guam governments were given advance notice of the original November RFI.
Of the 65,585 public comments BOEM received during the comment period, the agency’s memo acknowledges that the overwhelming majority opposed the proposal. Commenters cited threats to the Pacific tuna industry, coral reefs, subsistence fisheries, tourism and the Mariana Trench National Monument. Scientists and environmental groups noted that sediment plumes from mining operations can travel hundreds of miles and that deep-sea ecosystems recover extremely slowly if at all.
BOEM’s memo notes the Area ID decision is not a final commitment to lease and that environmental analysis will be completed before any lease sale. The agency said potential exclusions and best management practices could be applied based on that analysis.
