Trump Administration declares pristine Alaskan seafloor “open for business,” mocks environmental safeguards

Trump Administration officials used the Offshore Critical Minerals Exploration & Development Forum to push forward seabed mining in U.S. waters, announcing steps that could pave the way for the first mining operation on Alaska’s Outer Continental Shelf while openly dismissing environmental safeguards. In response, John Hocevar, Greenpeace USA Oceans Campaign Director, said: “Trump is as much of a menace to our oceans as he is to our communities. This rush to mine the seafloor reflects a bankrupt 19th-century extractive ideology, not genuine national security needs or sound business strategy. Deep sea mining does not exist for many good reasons — it is economically speculative, scientifically reckless, and environmentally destructive. At a time of accelerating ocean, climate, and biodiversity crisis, the priority should be on protecting these ecosystems, not opening new frontiers of extraction.”

The administration’s disregard for science, data-driven decision-making, and environmental oversight was underscored at the conference when D. Lee Forsgren, acting assistant secretary at the Army Corps of Engineers, dismissed review requirements, saying, “God forbid we have to go to an actual environmental impact assessment.” Erik Noble, deputy assistant secretary for oceans and atmospheres, declared the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) “open for business.”

Hocevar continued: “When senior officials openly mock environmental impact assessments, it shows how little respect they have for science, public process, or even the law. Environmental review is not red tape — it’s how we protect the very fisheries, coastal communities, and ecosystems, livelihoods and industries the administration has claimed it wants to ‘unleash.’”

The push towards launching the industry advanced today when the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced a request for information to gauge industry interest in seabed mining across Alaska’s Outer Continental Shelf—part of the administration’s broader effort to advance deep sea mining before the science, the law, and affected communities can fully weigh in. Past BOEM actions, including in American Samoa, where widespread public opposition was ignored, suggest this approach prioritizes momentum over precaution.