Seabed mining in Virginia’s federal waters would threaten coastal communities, resources 

SELC opposes exploitation of public resource for private gain 

WASHINGTON — Today, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced it is considering opening federal waters off the Virginia coast to seabed mining. This announcement comes after an executive order from the Trump administration that promised to open offshore resources to extractive industries. The “Request for Information” scheduled for publication tomorrow solicits input from the public as BOEM considers offering this lease area—an area larger than the state of Delaware—up to private mining companies for the extraction of heavy mineral marine sands from the ocean floor. The Southern Environmental Law Center, which is headquartered in Virginia, opposes the potential project. 

“This beloved public resource belongs to the people, not private, extractive industry. Opening Virginia’s federal waters to seabed mining would put countless essential resources at risk, and that’s not a risk we can or should take,” said Megan Huynh, Leader of SELC’s Wetlands and Coasts Program. “While the threat is new, we’re no strangers to fighting together to defend the Atlantic Coast. Coastal communities in Virginia—and partners up and down the East coast—successfully opposed the threat of offshore drilling in Virginia’s waters, and can do so again.” 

The Virginia coast is among the most biologically productive and economically significant areas on the Eastern Seaboard, home to a multimillion-dollar commercial fishery industry, the largest concentration of naval operations in the world, and diverse wildlife populations. Mining these deposits would involve industrial-scale dredging of the ocean floor using heavy machinery designed to break up and remove enormous volumes of the sediment and seafloor materials. That industrial activity could threaten Virginia’s coastal resources and cause irreparable damage to the ocean floor, wildlife populations, and the communities along the coast.  

The public and other stakeholders will now have 30 days from tomorrow to weigh in on the proposal. SELC plans to join with other partners to strongly oppose the exploitation of public resources for private gain.