By Tuifagaloa Dr. Afu Lefaoseu III

I will use every platform available to me to inform, protect, and empower the concerned community of American Samoa at large. This issue is too monumental to be swept into back-room emails or isolated phone calls. When the future of our waters, our local economy, and our sacred cultural heritage is at stake, the conversation belongs explicitly in the public square. I am actively using my platform to inform, protect, and empower the concerned community of American Samoa at large.

Furthermore, because this fast-tracked federal leasing process directly impacts our territory, receiving direct, public responses not just appropriate—it is required. Our community deserves unvarnished accountability rather than curated updates.

The Reality of the “Exploration” Cover-Up
“We are discussing exploration, not mining.” We are asked to believe that the federal government is simply offering a harmless scientific expedition.

My extensive research into the federal regulatory framework reveals a vastly different, far more aggressive reality. Let us look at the hard, undeniable facts regarding the upcoming August 2026 action by the federal government:

● A 20-Year Commercial Framework: The federal government has nowhere stated that they are offering a simple, standalone “exploration lease.” Make no mistake: they are
issuing a comprehensive, legally binding 20-year commercial leasing framework.
● The Sequential Illusion: Winning an auction tract grants a private, off-island corporation exclusive commercial rights to millions of acres of our Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). While proponents argue that a company must subsequently submit reports and plans before moving from baseline testing to full-scale extraction, this is a distinct commercial pipeline—not a passive academic study.
● The House Analogy: To clarify the gravity of this step, this is exactly like building a house. You cannot construct the roof without first surveying the land, drawing the architectural blueprints, laying the foundation, and erecting the structural framework. The federal government is auctioning off the commercial deed to our ocean floor. You do not sell a commercial deed to an industrial builder if you have no true intention of letting them build.
● The Consolidated Loophole: Under revised federal regulations, eligible U.S. applicants can now bypass historical checks and balances by utilizing a consolidated application process. This allows multi-million-dollar corporations to apply for an exploration license and a commercial recovery permit simultaneously, slicing through oversight and shortening critical review timelines by approximately 100 days. This is not a neutral scientific journey. It is a commercial escalator designed to lock in corporate rights before local voices can legally halt the momentum.

Unmasking the “Simple” Exploratory Process
The Steering Committee implies that the data collection required for the exploratory process is an innocent mechanism designed to give us answers. In reality, the technical baseline parameters mandated by regulations are highly invasive, industrial-scale operations designed to prepare a specific tract for extraction:
[Technical Baseline Exploration Process]
├─► Physical Oceanography (Deploying CTD sensor networks to map deep currents)
├─► Chemical Profiling (Testing the water column for baseline gases and metal toxicity)
├─► Biological Communities (High-res microbathymetry & photography mapping benthic life)
└─► Geological Properties (Analyzing topography of targeted polymetallic nodule fields)

If satisfying these technical baseline parameters is so straightforward, why are we rushing to hand these exclusive rights over to private, off-island startups like Impossible Metals before our own local community has had a meaningful opportunity to provide input?

Federal funding from the Department of the Interior (DOI) is being actively utilized on public initiatives that completely lack a solid, transparent scientific or local legal basis. We are spending public resources on “outreach” to manage local public anxiety on behalf of federal agencies rather than aggressively defending our territorial rights.

Rushing the Auction, Silencing Our Voices
The most alarming aspect of this fast-tracked timeline is how our community is being deliberately cut out of the sequence. The federal lease sale will be officially executed in August 2026—prior to gathering our public opinions. The federal government is using expedited Environmental Assessments (EAs) to authorize these initial lease sales, completely bypassing the deep, rigorous scientific scrutiny of a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

Furthermore, federal documents reveal that funding for official Pacific Island and tribal outreach is scheduled to occur after the August leases are already bought and paid for.

How are we supposed to counter this? How do we ensure our voices are heard when the decision to open our waters for exploitation has already been fast-tracked by federal executive mandates?

Once a commercial lease is acquired by an off-island corporation, it becomes “extremely durable” under federal law. If a future administration realizes the catastrophic ecological damage being done and tries to rescind it, the taxpayers will foot the bill to reimburse those corporations.

A Call for True Representation
Our responsibility as leaders is to advocate unyieldingly for the people of American Samoa—not to manage public concern on behalf of federal agencies or protect corporate timelines. The people of American Samoa cannot afford to learn the devastating true costs of deep-sea mining after our pelagic fish stocks, our local tuna industry, and our sacred marine habitats—like the thriving “Eel City” hydrothermal vents—have already been signed away.

As your candidate for U.S. Congress, I refuse to accept post-leasing “outreach” as a substitute for genuine indigenous consultation, cultural respect, and territorial consent. I will continue to stand firmly with our local leaders, village communities, and environmental defenders to demand that our backyard remains protected.
We do not just need an “outreach coordinator” to explain federal actions to us after the fact. We need a meaningful seat at the table, a fearless voice in Washington, and an unshakeable defense of our home.