The US government is planning to begin deep-sea mining in about 31 million acres of water off American Samoa. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has issued a proposed notice for two 20-year leases to carry out the practice in two portions of the Pacific Ocean’s floor. Each lease area has a bid of $3 million. Nick Katkevich from the Center for Biological Diversity has expressed concern about the potential harm of deep sea mining, which involves scraping the ocean floor for minerals. Others argue that the mining could reduce reliance on foreign materials for batteries and military programs. The governor of American Samoa has 60 days to comment on the proposed lease before the process can continue.