Critical Minerals on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf: The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s Role and Issues for Congress

The first and second Trump Administrations and the Biden Administration issued executive orders announcing U.S. policies to build and strengthen the resiliency of domestic critical mineral supply chains. For example, on April 24, 2025, as part of a broader national effort to secure reliable supplies for critical minerals, the Trump Administration issued Executive Order 14285, “Unleashing America’s Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources.” Critical minerals include any minerals, elements, substances, or materials that are designated as such by the Secretary of the Interior, based on a determination that they are essential to the economic and national security of the United States, have a supply chain vulnerable to disruption, and play an essential role in manufacturing a product whose absence would significantly affect U.S. economic or national security. One potential source of critical minerals is the U.S. outer continental shelf (OCS), the federally managed ocean area extending from the outer boundaries of state-controlled waters (generally 3 nautical miles [nmi] from shore) to 200 nmi from shore, with some exceptions. Experts estimate that 43 of the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS’s) 2025 list of 60 critical minerals occur on the OCS. Seabed deposits with critical mineral resources may occur across the OCS, but not all deposits on the OCS may be economically viable. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), within the Department of the Interior (DOI), administers offshore energy and mineral leasing on the OCS, pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA, as amended; 43 U.S.C. §§1331-1356c). BOEM’s two primary roles related to critical minerals consist of (1) evaluating the OCS for these resources and (2) leasing submerged lands for critical mineral development. Within BOEM, the Marine Minerals Program seeks to facilitate access to and manage marine minerals on the OCS. To date, the Marine Minerals Program has supported work to evaluate critical mineral resources on the OCS, but BOEM has not issued any leases for critical mineral exploration and development. On February 3, 2025, the Secretary of the Interior, in Secretarial Order 3417, directed all DOI bureaus and offices to identify authorities to facilitate identification, permitting, and leasing of critical minerals on federal lands and the OCS, among other directives. In 2025, two U.S. deep-sea mining companies separately submitted requests to BOEM to commence a leasing process for exploration and potential development of critical minerals on the OCS—one for areas offshore of American Samoa and one for areas offshore of Virginia. BOEM has initiated the process for two potential mineral lease sales in response to these requests. BOEM separately published two additional requests for information and interest in the Federal Register for lease sales for minerals on the OCS offshore of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) in November 2025 and offshore of Alaska in January 2026. BOEM works with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and USGS to determine which areas of the OCS have potential for critical minerals. For example, these three agencies contributed to the National Strategy for Ocean Mapping, Exploring, and Characterizing the United States Exclusive Economic Zone (NOMEC Strategy). A goal of the NOMEC Strategy is to “explore and characterize priority areas,” such as areas with potential for critical minerals. In addition to the NOMEC Strategy, BOEM is developing the National Offshore Critical Minerals Inventory (NOCMI), a conceptual framework to organize its resource evaluation and environmental research related to critical minerals on the OCS. BOEM, NOAA, and USGS have studied or plan to study multiple areas of the OCS, including OCS areas in the western Aleutian Islands (offshore of Alaska), the Escanaba Trough (offshore of California), north of Puerto Rico, around Hawaii and the U.S. Pacific Island territories, and in the Gulf of America, for sites with potential for critical minerals. As the federal government works to strengthen the United States’ domestic critical mineral supply chain, Congress may consider BOEM’s role in leasing submerged lands for critical minerals and determining potential mitigation measures to limit adverse impacts to the marine environment. For example, Congress could address leasing considerations for specific OCS areas, including the OCS areas proposed by BOEM offshore of American Samoa, the CNMI, Virginia, and Alaska. Other considerations may include whether BOEM’s regulations for marine minerals pose economic burdens for the mining industry. Congress also may consider options for onshore processing of marine minerals should seabed mining advance to a commercial level. Congress may consider how the Jones Act (Section 27 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920; P.L. 66-261), which requires that waterborne transportation between “U.S. points” be conducted only by vessels built in the United States and owned and crewed by U.S. citizens, might impact critical mineral activities on the OCS. Congress also may weigh potential environmental impacts of mining on the OCS and consider BOEM mitigation measures for such activities.