Rivalry and Coordination in Marine Hard Minerals Regulation

Marine hard minerals are being promoted for potential contribution to national supply. The timely and efficient development of these potential public resources could be distorted by rivalrous federal agency behavior in the multiple agency framework that includes both the Commerce and Interior Departments. The importance of marine hard mineral development may be exaggerated as agencies bid for constituency and seek to expand jurisdictional domain. Alternatively, impediments may be created by duplication of effort, confusing signals, false starts, and diversion of resources to rivalrous activities. Under some conditions, however, competition between agencies can serve as a check on regulatory excesses and can provide valuable diversity of information to policymakers.