One of 24th District Sen. Kevin Van De Wege’s, D-Sequim, legislative session priorities — a bill to ban seabed mining in state marine waters — passed the House of Representatives easily Sunday after winning unanimous Senate approval in early March.
The two-page bill, introduced in January by Van De Wege and 23rd District Sen. Christine Rolfes, D-Bainbridge Island, states that the state Department of Natural Resources “may not issue permits and leases on aquatic lands along the Washington coast from Cape Flattery south to Washington’s southern border” — including Grays Harbor and Willapa Bay — “for purposes of exploration, development, or seabed mining of hard materials.”
At the January Greater Grays Harbor legislative sendoff in Aberdeen, Van De Wege had called the legislation one of his priorities for the 2021 session, saying nobody was currently engaged in seabed mining in the state, but he wanted to ban it “before it starts.”
“Seabed mining is bad for sea life, bad for our environmental health, and bad for our future,” said Van De Wege after the bill passed the House. “This legislative movement will ensure our marine ecosystems, our fisheries and our coastal communities don’t turn into offshore strip mines.”
A statement from the Surfrider Foundation, Washington Dungeness Crab Fishermen’s Association and Twin Harbors Waterkeeper on Sunday said there has been interest in mining black sands containing iron, titanium and other hard minerals from Cape Flattery to the Columbia River since at least the late 1800s. Oregon passed a precautionary law banning seabed mining in its state waters in 1991.
“For those of us who work on our oceans and coastal estuaries, the legislative prohibition on seafloor mining is welcome and much appreciated,” said Larry Thevick, who lives in Ocean Shores and serves as president of the Washington Dungeness Crab Fishermen’s Association. “The preservation and protection of our abundant marine resources is fundamental to the preservation and protection of our coastal fishing, recreation, and tourist economies and communities.”
“Democrats and Republicans came together to support this proactive ocean protection legislation before the threat of destructive seabed mining arrives in our coastal waters,” said Gus Gates, Washington Policy Manager with the Surfrider Foundation. “In passing this legislation, our leaders clearly value our beautiful coastline, our outdoor recreation and marine resource based economy, and the culture and economic well-being of our coastal communities.”
“Industrial-scale prospecting for gold, platinum, titanium, phosphorus and other minerals along the ocean floor is increasing worldwide,” according to Sunday’s joint statement. “Seabed mineral extraction, which ranges from dredging to far more destructive techniques, including the removal of the top 12 inches of seafloor off of seamounts, could additionally affect kelp forests and other marine habitats that nurture commercially and recreationally important fish.”
The statement continued, “By preventing this harmful activity before it starts, the West Coast can be a model for other regions that are hoping to avoid the possible consequences of seabed mining.”
“Seabed mining, had it been allowed, would have had the potential to irreversibly alter and destroy critical ocean habitats and the species that depend on them,” said Lee First with Twin Harbors Waterkeeper. “Today Twin Harbors Waterkeeper celebrates a big win for the ocean and the species and surrounding communities that depend on them.”
The bill now goes to Gov. Jay Inslee’s desk for final approval.
