Deep seabed
Deep seabed means the seabed, and the subsoil thereof to a depth of ten meters, lying seaward of and outside -
(1) The Continental Shelf of any nation; and
(2) Any area of national resource jurisdiction of any foreign nation, if such area extends beyond the Continental Shelf of such nation and such jurisdiction is recognized by the United States;
(i) Environment or environmental as used in the definitions of “irreparable harm” and “significant adverse environmental effect” means or pertains to the deep seabed and ocean waters lying at and within the permit area, and in surrounding areas including transportation corridors to the extent that they might be affected by the commercial recovery activities, and the living and non-living resources of those areas;
(j) Exploration means -
(1) Any at-sea observation and evaluation activity which has, as its objective, the establishment and documentation of -
(i) The nature, shape, concentration, location, and tenor of a hard mineral resource; and
(ii) The environmental, technical, and other appropriate factors which must be taken into account to achieve commercial recovery; and
(2) The taking from the deep seabed of such quantities of any hard mineral resource as are necessary for the design, fabrication and testing of equipment which is intended to be used in the commercial recovery and processing of such resource;