Lawsuit Seeks to Block American Samoa Deep-sea Mining Lease Sale

October 19, 2026

Lawsuit Seeks to Block American Samoa Deep-sea Mining Lease Sale

Samoan council of chiefs and community groups seek to protect over 31 million acres of ocean from destructive mining activity

Contacts

Miranda Fox, Earthjustice, [email protected]

Legal document

Honolulu, HI -

A Samoan council of matai (chiefs or leaders) from American Samoa's Manu'a Islands joined with two community groups to file a lawsuit in federal court today seeking to block a November 19 lease sale that would allow deep-sea mining off the coast of American Samoa. Faleula o le Manu'atele, Fa'asao Amerika Samoa (FAS), and Conservation Council for Hawai'i, represented by Earthjustice, are asking the court to declare the sale unlawful and vacate the final leasing notice that the Marine Minerals Administration published earlier today.

The groups argue that the Marine Minerals Administration, the U.S. government agency managing the lease sale, lacks the authority to sell the leases under treaty requirements that must be satisfied before any mineral leasing can happen in American Samoa. They also argue that the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act-the law under which the lease sale is being held-does not authorize mineral leasing in any of the U.S. territories, including American Samoa, and that the agency is violating its own leasing regulations.

"Tagaloa created Manu'a, its oceans, and the beings that live around our islands and in our waters. Tagaloa entrusted the lands and waters of Manu'a to Faleula o le Manu'atele, which has stewarded Manu'a for over a thousand years and to this day. Deep sea mining threatens the lands and waters we have stewarded, and the federal government does not have authority to sell these leases in American Samoa. This lawsuit is a way for Faleula o le Manu'atele to carry out the responsibility Tagaloa has entrusted to us," said Dr. Malouamaua "Malo" Tuiolosega, Faleula o le Manu'atele Representative.

"We are honored to stand alongside Faleula o le Manu'atele and the Conservation Council of Hawai'i in this fight. In the Fa'asamoa, our matai carry the voices of their villages and the responsibility to represent and protect their people. The support of the council of Manu'a chiefs sends a powerful message - those with the deepest ancestral ties to these lands and waters will not remain silent. For thousands of years, the people of Manu'a have served as stewards of the waters surrounding Muliava (Rose Atoll). Their voices and traditional authority must be respected and included in decisions affecting our ancestral home. FAS is prepared to support the chiefs and people of Manu'a in this fight to protect our ocean," said Utumapu Andrew Pati Ah Young, FAS Co-Founder.

The Trump administration also entirely failed to evaluate the environmental impacts of the deep-sea mining or development that this lease sale is intended to unleash on the ocean waters surrounding American Samoa.

"It's appalling that the Trump Administration is seeking to mine the seabed around the American Samoan islands of Manu'a and the Rose Atoll Marine National Monument, an area full of marine biodiversity, endemic and endangered species." Jonee Peters, Executive Director for Conservation Council for Hawai'i added. "This type of extractive industries will destroy marine habitats, disrupt carbon sinks, and displace marine life, food sources and the cultural identity of this area. It will cause a chain reaction of devastating effects across the Pacific region by altering cross migrations, loss of species and underwater pollution."

"The more steps the Trump administration takes to breathe air into this speculative industry, the more that we question whether the Trump administration is making any effort to follow the laws. We are bringing this case to protect the Samoan lands and waters that hold histories, feed families, and shelter sacred beings before deep-sea mining causes irreversible destruction," said Earthjustice attorney Chris Eaton.

Seabed mineral exploration and mining activities can destroy habitat and harm marine wildlife-including yet undiscovered species-in multiple ways, exposing them to toxic minerals that create exposure risks throughout the food chain, disrupting their ability to communicate and feed with loud equipment, and striking them directly with mining vessels that motor to and from operation locations.

These impacts will be acutely felt by the people in American Samoa, who rely on a healthy ocean ecosystem for sustenance, protection, and long-standing cultural practices.

Earthjustice attorney David Henkin, left, and Rudy Bartley, a member of the nonprofit groups Faasao Amerika Samoa and Puipui Measina a Amerika Samoa, take part in the Stand with the Moana demonstration to support and protect the ocean on July 16, 2026 on the Utulei shore in American Samoa. The event was organized by Finafinau, a nonprofit environmental advocacy group. (Gabby Faʻaiʻuaso for Earthjustice)

Additional Resources

• About the Mid-Pacific Office
• About the Oceans Program
• About the Tribal Partnerships Program

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