FAQs Archive

Q: C.8 What else does an EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) contain?

Additional elements of an EIS include stakeholder consultation outcomes, Environmental Management and Monitoring Plans, closure plans, and adaptive management measures. An EIS typically assesses project alternatives and states the no-development case. A level of Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) is typically required. For more details on the EIA, see this blog post .

Q: C.7 Do stakeholders and the public get a say in the EIA?

Yes. Stakeholders are engaged throughout the EIA process . EIS submission typically involves a public consultation period during which any parties can provide comments registered by the regulator and proponent and require assessment.

Q: C.6 How much does it cost, and how long does it take to run the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) program for deep sea mining?

Collecting and analyzing the data and writing the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) report typically take three to five years. This is the primary purpose of the exploration license, which typically costs around $30–80M.

Q: C.4 Does a comprehensive baseline have to exhaustively measure every ecosystem component and solve every aspect of ocean science? If so, how can this be achieved in 3–5 years?

No. No single baseline for any development project can hope to solve ocean science and answer every question. A baseline project is not an unbounded ocean research exercise. The scope of a baseline project is defined by an EIA Scoping Study that identifies the parameters essential to assessing impacts and that directly connect to monitoring key indicators. However, there is an interface between a baseline project and regional and global ocean science objectives. By aggregating results across several individual baseline projects using consistent methods, regional assessments are made, and by integrating across information sources, the knowledge of global ocean science is improved. Publishing the objective findings of baseline studies is a key global knowledge enhancement process.

Q: G.6 Why do we refer to our competitors as using dredging tractors with riser pumps?

The U .S. Army Corps of Engineers defines dredging as “ A dredge is a machine that scoops or suctions sediment from the bottom of waterways... ” Although companies are using the ‘ Coanda effect ,’ it is still dredging. The leading dredging companies have built polymetallic nodule collection systems, e.g., All Seas, DEME/GSR, Royal IHC, etc. Dredging tractors for deep sea mining were first described in a 1965 patent, 3,456,371 .