30 U.S.C. § 1403 — Definitions

For this chapter, the following terms have these meanings. Any term used here but defined by reference to another provision is not independently defined by this section.

(1) “Commercial recovery” means (A) an at-sea activity to recover a hard mineral resource at a substantial rate mainly to market or commercially use it to earn a net profit, whether or not a profit is actually earned; (B) processing that resource at sea if it will be processed there; and (C) disposing at sea of waste from the recovery activity or at-sea processing if that waste will be disposed of there.

(2) “Continental Shelf” means (A) the seabed and subsoil of submarine areas next to a coast but outside the territorial sea, down to 200 meters or, beyond that depth, as far as the depth of the waters above allows the natural resources to be exploited; and (B) the seabed and subsoil of similar submarine areas next to an island’s coast.

(3) “Controlling interest,” for paragraph 14(C), means a direct or indirect legal or beneficial interest in, or influence over, another person through ownership of stock, interlocking directors or officers, contracts, or similar means, when it substantially affects that person’s independent business behavior.

(4) “Deep seabed” means the seabed and its subsoil down to 10 meters that lies seaward of and outside (A) every nation’s Continental Shelf and (B) a foreign nation’s area of national-resource jurisdiction, if that area extends beyond that nation’s Continental Shelf and the United States recognizes the jurisdiction.

(5) “Exploration” means (A) at-sea observation and evaluation intended to establish and document (i) the nature, shape, concentration, location, and quality of a hard mineral resource and (ii) the environmental, technical, and other appropriate factors needed for commercial recovery; and (B) taking from the deep seabed enough of a hard mineral resource to design, build, and test equipment intended for recovering and processing that resource commercially.

(6) “Hard mineral resource” means a deposit or accumulation on or just below the deep seabed’s surface of nodules containing one or more minerals, at least one of which contains manganese, nickel, cobalt, or copper.

(7) “International agreement” means a comprehensive agreement reached through negotiations at the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea about, among other matters, exploring for and commercially recovering hard mineral resources and creating an international system to regulate those activities.

(8) “Licensee” means the holder of a license issued under subchapter I to explore.

(9) “Permittee” means the holder of a permit issued under subchapter I to engage in commercial recovery.

(10) “Person” means any United States citizen, individual, corporation, partnership, joint venture, association, or other entity organized or existing under any nation’s laws.

(11) “Reciprocating state” means a foreign nation designated as such by the Administrator under section 1428.

(12) “Administrator” means the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

(13) “United States” means the several States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and every other Commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.

(14) “United States citizen” means (A) an individual who is a United States citizen; (B) a corporation, partnership, joint venture, association, or other entity organized or existing under the laws of any of the United States; or (C) a corporation, partnership, joint venture, association, or other entity organized or existing under United States or foreign law if a controlling interest in it is held by an individual or entity described in (A) or (B). The term “controlling interest” is defined in paragraph (3).