PUBLIC LAW 104–325—OCT. 19, 1996

MARINE MINERAL RESOURCES RESEARCH

ACT OF 1996
110 STAT. 3994 PUBLIC LAW 104–325—OCT. 19, 1996

Public Law 104–325

104th Congress

An Act

To promote the research, identification, assessment, and exploration of marine

mineral resources, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Marine Mineral Resources

Research Act of 1996’’.

SEC. 2. RESEARCH PROGRAM.

The Mining and Minerals Policy Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 21a)

is amended—

(1) by inserting after the first section the following:

‘‘TITLE I—MINING POLICY’’;

(2) by redesignating section 2 as section 101; and

(3) by adding at the end the following:

‘‘TITLE II—MARINE MINERAL

RESOURCES RESEARCH PROGRAM

‘‘SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS.

‘‘In this title:

‘‘(1) The term ‘contract’ has the same meaning as ‘procurement contract’ in section 6303 of title 31, United States Code.

‘‘(2) The term ‘cooperative agreement’ has the same meaning as in section 6305 of title 31, United States Code.

‘‘(3) The term ‘eligible entity’ means—

‘‘(A) a research or educational entity chartered or incorporated under Federal or State law;

‘‘(B) an individual who is a United States citizen; or

‘‘(C) a State or regional agency.

‘‘(4) The term ‘grant’ has the same meaning as ‘grant

agreement’ in section 6304 of title 31, United States Code.

‘‘(5) The term ‘in-kind contribution’ means a noncash contribution provided by a non-Federal entity that directly benefits

and is related to a specific project or program. An in-kind

contribution may include real property, equipment, supplies,

other expendable property, goods, and services.

‘‘(6) The term ‘marine mineral resource’ means—

‘‘(A) sand and aggregates;

30 USC 1901.

30 USC 1901

note.

Marine Mineral

Resources

Research Act of

1996.

Oct. 19, 1996

[S. 1194]
PUBLIC LAW 104–324—OCT. 19, 1996 110 STAT. 3995

‘‘(B) placers;

‘‘(C) phosphates;

‘‘(D) manganese nodules;

‘‘(E) cobalt crusts;

‘‘(F) metal sulfides; and

‘‘(G) other marine resources that are not—

‘‘(i) oil and gas;

‘‘(ii) fisheries; or

‘‘(iii) marine mammals.

‘‘(7) The term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary of the

Interior.

‘‘SEC. 202. RESEARCH PROGRAM.

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish and carry out

a program of research on marine mineral resources.

‘‘(b) PROGRAM GOAL.—The goal of the program shall be to—

‘‘(1) promote research, identification, assessment, and

exploration of marine mineral resources in an environmentally

responsible manner;

‘‘(2) assist in developing domestic technologies required

for efficient and environmentally sound development of marine

mineral resources;

‘‘(3) coordinate and promote the use of technologies developed with Federal assistance, and the use of available Federal

assets, for research, identification, assessment, exploration, and

development of marine mineral resources; and

‘‘(4) encourage academia and industry to conduct basic

and applied research, on a joint basis, through grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts with the Federal Government.

‘‘(c) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY.—In carrying out the

program, the Secretary shall—

‘‘(1) promote and coordinate partnerships between industry,

government, and academia to research, identify, assess, and

explore marine mineral resources in an environmentally sound

manner;

‘‘(2) undertake programs to develop the basic information

necessary to the long-term national interest in marine mineral

resources (including seabed mapping) and to ensure that data

and information are accessible and widely disseminated as

needed and appropriate;

‘‘(3) identify, and promote cooperation among agency programs that are developing, technologies developed by other

Federal programs that may hold promise for facilitating undersea applications related to marine mineral resources, including

technologies related to vessels and other platforms, underwater

vehicles, survey and mapping systems, remote power sources,

data collection and transmission systems, and various seabed

research systems; and

‘‘(4) foster communication and coordination between Federal and State agencies, universities, and private entities

concerning marine mineral research on seabeds of the continental shelf, ocean basins, and arctic and cold water areas.

In carrying out these responsibilities, the Secretary shall ensure

the participation of non-Federal users of technologies and data

related to marine mineral resources in planning and priority setting.

‘‘SEC. 203. GRANTS, CONTRACTS, AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.

‘‘(a) ASSISTANCE AND COORDINATION.—

30 USC 1903.

Establishment.

30 USC 1902.
110 STAT. 3996 PUBLIC LAW 104–325—OCT. 19, 1996

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award grants or

contracts to, or enter into cooperative agreements with, eligible

entities to support research for the development or utilization

of—

‘‘(A) methods, equipment, systems, and components

necessary for the identification, assessment, and exploration of marine mineral resources in an environmentally

responsible manner;

‘‘(B) methods of detecting, monitoring, and predicting

the presence of adverse environmental effects in the marine

environment and remediating the environmental effects

of marine mineral resource exploration, development, and

production; and

‘‘(C) education and training material in marine mineral

research and resource management.

‘‘(2) COST-SHARING FOR CONTRACTS OR COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—

‘‘(A) FEDERAL SHARE.—Except as provided in subparagraph (B)(ii), the Federal share of the cost of a contract

or cooperative agreement carried out under this subsection

shall not be greater than 80 percent of the total cost

of the project.

‘‘(B) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The remaining non-Federal

share of the cost of a project carried out under this section

may be—

‘‘(i) in the form of cash or in-kind contributions,

or both; and

‘‘(ii) comprised of funds made available under other

Federal programs, except that non-Federal funds shall

be used to defray at least 10 percent of the total

cost of the project.

‘‘(C) CONSULTATION.—Not later than 180 days after

the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall

establish, after consultation with other Federal agencies,

terms and conditions under which Federal funding will

be provided under this subsection that are consistent with

the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures

referred to in section 101(d)(12) of the Uruguay Round

Agreement Act (19 U.S.C. 3511(d)(12)).

‘‘(b) COMPETITIVE REVIEW.—

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An entity shall not be eligible to receive

a grant or contract, or participate in a cooperative agreement,

under subsection (a) unless—

‘‘(A) the entity submits a proposal to the Secretary

at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such

information as the Secretary may reasonably require; and

‘‘(B) the proposal has been evaluated by a competitive

review panel under paragraph (3).

‘‘(2) COMPETITIVE REVIEW PANELS.—

‘‘(A) COMPOSITION.—A competitive review panel shall

be chaired by the Secretary or by the Secretary’s designee

and shall be composed of members who meet the following

criteria:

‘‘(i) APPOINTMENT.—The members shall be

appointed by the Secretary.

‘‘(ii) EXPERIENCE.—Not less than 50 percent of the

members shall represent or be employed by private
PUBLIC LAW 104–324—OCT. 19, 1996 110 STAT. 3997

marine resource companies that are involved in exploration of the marine environment or development of

marine mineral resources.

‘‘(iii) INTEREST.—None of the members may have

an interest in a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement being evaluated by the panel.

‘‘(B) NO COMPENSATION.—A review panel member who

is not otherwise a Federal employee shall receive no compensation for performing duties under this section, except

that, while engaged in the performance of duties away

from the home or regular place of business of the member,

the member may be allowed travel expenses, including

per diem in lieu of subsistence, in the same manner as

a person employed intermittently in the Government service under section 5703 of title 5, United States Code.

‘‘(3) EVALUATION.—A competitive review panel shall base

an evaluation of a proposal on criteria developed by the Secretary that shall include—

‘‘(A) the merits of the proposal;

‘‘(B) the research methodology and costs of the proposal;

‘‘(C) the capability of the entity submitting the proposal

and any other participating entity to perform the proposed

work and provide in-kind contributions;

‘‘(D) the amount of matching funds provided by the

entity submitting the proposal or provided by other Federal,

State, or private entities;

‘‘(E) the extent of collaboration with other Federal,

State, or private entities;

‘‘(F) in the case of a noncommercial entity, the existence

of a cooperative agreement with a commercial entity that

provides for collaboration in the proposed research;

‘‘(G) whether the proposal promotes responsible

environmental stewardship; and

‘‘(H) such other factors as the Secretary considers

appropriate.

‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS.—

‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not more than 10 percent

of the amount made available to carry out this section during

a fiscal year may be used by the Secretary for expenses associated with administration of the program authorized by this

section.

‘‘(2) CONSTRUCTION COSTS.—None of the funds made available under this section may be used for the construction of

a new building or the acquisition, expansion, remodeling, or

alteration of an existing building (including site grading and

improvement and architect fees).

‘‘(d) REPORTS.—An eligible entity that receives a grant or contract or enters into a cooperative agreement under this section

shall submit an annual progress report and a final technical report

to the Secretary that—

‘‘(1) describes project activities, implications of the project,

the significance of the project to marine mineral research,

identification, assessment, and exploration, and potential

commercial and economic benefits and effects of the project;

and
110 STAT. 3998 PUBLIC LAW 104–325—OCT. 19, 1996

‘‘(2) in the case of an annual progress report, includes

a project plan for the subsequent year.

‘‘SEC. 204. MARINE MINERAL RESEARCH CENTERS.

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—No later than 90 days after the date of

enactment of this section, the Secretary shall designate 3 centers

for marine mineral research and related activities.

‘‘(b) CONCENTRATION.—One center shall concentrate primarily

on research in the continental shelf regions of the United States,

1 center shall concentrate primarily on research in deep seabed

and near-shore environments of islands, and 1 center shall concentrate primarily on research in arctic and cold water regions.

‘‘(c) CRITERIA.—In designating a center under this section, the

Secretary shall give priority to a university that—

‘‘(1) administers a federally funded center for marine minerals research;

‘‘(2) matriculates students for advanced degrees in marine

geological sciences, nonenergy natural resources, and related

fields of science and engineering;

‘‘(3) is a United States university with established programs

and facilities that primarily focus on marine mineral resources;

‘‘(4) has engaged in collaboration and cooperation with

industry, governmental agencies, and other universities in the

field of marine mineral resources;

‘‘(5) has demonstrated significant engineering, development, and design experience in two or more of the following

areas;

‘‘(A) seabed exploration systems;

‘‘(B) marine mining systems; and

‘‘(C) marine mineral processing systems; and

‘‘(6) has been designated by the Secretary as a State Mining

and Mineral Resources Research Institute.

‘‘(d) CENTER ACTIVITIES.—A center shall—

‘‘(1) provide technical assistance to the Secretary concerning

marine mineral resources;

‘‘(2) advise the Secretary on pertinent international activities in marine mineral resources development;

‘‘(3) engage in research, training, and education transfer

associated with the characterization and utilization of marine

mineral resources; and

‘‘(4) promote the efficient identification, assessment, exploration, and management of marine mineral resources in an

environmentally sound manner.

‘‘(e) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—In distributing funds to the centers designated under subsection (a), the Secretary shall, to the

extent practicable, allocate an equal amount to each center.

‘‘(f) LIMITATIONS.—

‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not more than 5 percent

of the amount made available to carry out this section during

a fiscal year may be used by the Secretary for expenses associated with administration of the program authorized by this

section.

‘‘(2) CONSTRUCTION COSTS.—None of the funds made available under this section may be used for the construction of

a new building or the acquisition, expansion, remodeling, or

alteration of an existing building (including site grading and

improvement and architect fees).

30 USC 1904.
PUBLIC LAW 104–324—OCT. 19, 1996 110 STAT. 3999

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S. 1194:

SENATE REPORTS: No. 104–296 (Comm. on Energy and Natural Resources).

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 142 (1996):

Sept. 28, considered and passed Senate.

Oct. 4, considered and passed House.

Æ

‘‘SEC. 205. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

‘‘There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as are

necessary to carry out this title.’’.

Approved October 19, 1996.

30 USC 1905.