Commentary: Virginia’s Atlantic Coast Should Be Protected, Not Turned Into a Sacrifice Zone

A company with a history of scouring the seas for long-lost treasure has now set its sights on striking a different kind of gold off Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

Instead of chests of coins aboard shipwrecks, it’s targeting the mineral-rich sands of the ocean floor. And if it succeeds, it could come at a steep cost for the region’s rich marine wildlife, local fisheries, and coastal communities.

A loggerhead sea turtle is one of the marine species found in Virginia’s coastal waters. (Photo courtesy Picasa Creative Commons / Joseph & Farideh/Center for Biological Diversity)

Florida-based Odyssey Marine Exploration has asked the Trump administration to grant mining companies access to more than 2,500 square miles — an area larger than the state of Delaware — to mine phosphate, titanium, and zirconium.

Federal government scouts for interest in mineral mining off Virginia shores

Companies may also seek rare earth elements used to develop and operate data centers. The massive industrial operation would use a trailing suction hopper dredge to vacuum up the ocean floor, potentially sucking in and crushing everything in its path.

This could be catastrophic for the entire ocean ecosystem, from tiny crustaceans on the sea floor to giant North Atlantic right whales, and every living creature in between.

Virginia’s offshore waters are rich with marine life. They provide important habitat for many animals protected under the Endangered Species Act, including several kinds of whales, four species of sea turtles, and Atlantic sturgeon. They’re also an important corridor for marine animals migrating through the mid-Atlantic.

These remarkable marine animals already face mounting pressures from climate change, warming waters, shipping traffic, and habitat destruction. Introducing offshore strip mining into their habitat could compound the threats and thrust them closer to extinction at a time when they need greater protection, not new stressors.

Atlantic sturgeon is a fish species found in Virginia’s coastal waters. (Photo courtesy
Albert Herring/Virginia State Parks)

And the harms would likely not be restricted to the mine’s giant footprint. The operation could send sediment plumes far into the sea, clouding water, blocking sunlight, reducing oxygen levels, and smothering marine life.

Ocean mining could also introduce toxic chemicals, heavy metals, and other contaminants into the ocean system and marine food chain, with potentially dire consequences for the thousands of Virginians whose livelihoods depend on a healthy ocean.

But despite these risks, the Trump administration is charging full speed ahead.

Last year, President Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to speed up permitting for ocean mining operations, in part by reducing environmental reviews. Since then, companies have rushed to get clearance for projects on the ocean floor, including off Virginia’s coast.

As Washington races to mine our oceans, other countries have chosen a different path. Namibia, New Zealand, and Mexico have all rejected applications to mine phosphate from their sea floors, deciding that the risks were too great.

In doing so, these countries declared that some places are simply too valuable to be turned into sacrifice zones.

Instead of leading the rush to strip mine the ocean floor, our policymakers in D.C. should be working to secure a permanent ban on ocean mining — protecting our oceans forever — before irreversible damage is done.

Virginia’s Eastern Shore coastline, like so many of our rich offshore habitats, deserves to be protected, not handed over to treasure seekers.

by Rachel Mathews, Virginia Mercury

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