The initial public comment period for an unprecedented proposal to mine minerals from the Atlantic Ocean off Virginia’s Eastern Shore ends on Saturday, Aug. 22. Over 1,300 comments have been filed, the vast majority opposing offshore mineral leases. 

But thanks to the arcane U.S. regulatory approval process, the door to public input will close with most Eastern Shore residents lacking enough information to judge the risks to their livelihoods and shorelines.

The stakes are enormous. A Fortune Business Insights report projected that the global marine mining market will grow from $6.18 billion in 2026 to $65.56 billion by 2034. North America would produce 41% of that growth, the analysts projected. 

Federal government scouts for interest in mineral mining off Virginia shores

Earlier this year, Florida-based Odyssey Marine Exploration and Michigan-based Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company filed an unsolicited request for a lease to mine sites within a 2,700 square mile area off the Virginia’ coast. 

In their proposal, the companies focused on the need for the U.S. to find domestic sources of critical minerals, including rare earth minerals like those used in cell phones and military equipment.

This pitch plays well with the Trump administration’s desire to stop buying these materials from foreign countries, especially China.

Ironically, Virginia’s 1st Congressional District U.S. Rob Wittman, a Republican who represents many Chesapeake Bay watermen, authored recent legislation which expands mineral mining. 2nd Congressional District U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans, who represents the Eastern Shore, voted for that bill.

Odyssey promises “to fully understand the local environment—how the seafloor, water, and wildlife interact—before any dredging activity is proposed.” The company will use “measures to avoid, minimize, and monitor potential impacts” and involve “regulators, scientists, stakeholders, and the public in a transparent and collaborative way.” 

Communities with the most to lose would welcome more information. 

Accomack County borders the Atlantic Ocean. County Supervisor Jeffrey Parks told me he first heard of Odyssey’s proposal when the media reported on a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announcement about leasing, back in June. 

Since then, information about risks has been so sparse that Parks and other Accomack supervisors told the BOEM they opposed sea mining leases.

“Nobody likes to be surprised,” Parks said. “If (mining) is a way to add jobs, I’d be all over it. But I don’t know enough to know whether  (Odyssey) will be exploiting resources. I feel they missed an opportunity by not coming to the local government first.”

The board’s official comment to the BOEM reflected that frustration.

“Any large-scale seabed mining or dredging activity has the potential to alter marine habitats, affect water quality, disrupt fisheries, and negatively impact recreational opportunities that attract thousands of visitors to our region each year,” the supervisors’ comment reads. 

The board also worried that offshore mining would interfere with the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility and Navy testing and training areas. 

A dearth of information about mining risks continues to bedevil Eastern Shore communities, individuals, and groups. 

“We really don’t know about the mining process,” said Susan Bates, director of the Virginia Coast Reserve Program for The Nature Conservancy in Virginia. 

“We don’t know about the risks. There are 133,000 acres of conserved lands on the Eastern Shore. Water quality allows for sea grasses. The clam industry here is one of the largest in the nation, and it is on the ocean side.”

The Virginia Waterman’s Association told the feds it has “grave concerns regarding the environmental impacts that could affect commercial fishing.”

The group laid out specific requests:

• “A detailed analysis of commercial fishing in the proposed area to understand the full impacts” of mineral mining.
• “A detailed sediment transport and plume modeling to evaluate both short-term and long-term movement of disturbed sediments under varying seasonal and storm conditions.”
• An evaluation of “cumulative impacts of mineral extraction in combination with other stressors affecting Virginia’s marine ecosystem and existing fisheries.”
• “A fisheries mitigation and compensation program to address any demonstrated economic losses to commercial fishermen, seafood businesses, processors, and supporting industries resulting from project activities.”  

Northampton County Supervisors told the BOEM it would oppose commercial sea mining leases “until comprehensive scientific, environmental, and economic analyses demonstrate that such activities pose no unacceptable risk to Northampton County, its residents, its economy, or its natural resources.”

An Odyssey statement sent to me emphasized that the mining lease request is in early days, with a long regulatory journey ahead. The statement outlined environmental and wildlife protections, including whale habitats. 

A company spokesperson also stressed that there is no deep-sea mining proposed. The project will use shallow-water mining with dredges.

Deep-sea mining has been linked to plumes of sediment that can smother species and alter marine habitats by changing water quality and washing ashore. 

The University of Helsinki in Finland studies sea mineral mining. Environmental impacts of shallow-water mining with dredges may take less time to abate than deep-sea mining, a university report said, but shallow sea mineral mining remains a serious risk to marine life and ecosystems. 

“Claims of reduced environmental impacts of shallow-water mining are not backed by credible evaluations, but by hopes and assumptions that support a pro-mining narrative,” the report noted.

Shallow-water mining is also less regulated than deep-sea mining, offering a “regulatory grey area (that) may be seen as an opportunity to circumvent stringent rules.”

There are plenty of details to come, but all of them lead to a single conclusion: If you are a Virginian opposed to mineral mining off your coast, you better pay very close attention to a very confusing process.  

Public comments on the proposal for marine mining leases off the Eastern Shore are being accepted here until 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 22.