How do I submit a public comment on Administrative Revisions to Regulations Related to Outer Continental Shelf?

The public comment window for this decision closed on April 27, 2026. The record of what was at stake stays on this page.

When is the public comment deadline for Administrative Revisions to Regulations Related to Outer Continental Shelf?

The comment window closed on April 27, 2026.

Do public comments actually change federal decisions?

Yes, when they are substantive. Agencies are legally required to read and respond to substantive comments before finalizing a rule, and specific personal comments about real places and real uses carry far more weight than identical form letters. Courts have overturned rules when agencies ignored substantive comments.

High threat to public lands

Oppose Administrative Revisions to Regulations Related to Outer Continental

Administrative Revisions to Regulations Related to Outer Continental Shelf Minerals Other Than Oil, Gas, and Sulphur

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management· Outer Continental ShelfFederal Register 2026-03690 ↗

Mining Deregulation Ocean Wildlife Climate

Open water on the Outer Continental Shelf off Virginia (BOEM photo) · this decision is nationwide

This proposed rule from BOEM would revise regulations governing hard mineral mining (like polymetallic nodules and crusts) on the Outer Continental Shelf, covering prospecting, leasing, and operations. It's driven by a series of Trump administration executive orders pushing to expand offshore resource extraction and reduce regulatory burdens. It'd affect federal offshore waters managed under the OCS Lands Act, potentially impacting seabed ecosystems and marine environments.

In the agency’s own words

Consistent with Executive Order (E.O.) 14285, "Unleashing America's Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources" (April 24, 2025), E.O. 14154 "Unleashing American Energy" (January 20, 2025), E.O. 14192 "Unleashing Prosperity through Deregulation" (January 31, 2025), and consistent with agency policy, the Department of the Interior (the Department or DOI), acting through the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), proposes administrative revisions to regulations that govern prospecting, leasing, and operations related to minerals other than oil, gas, and sulphur ("hard minerals") on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS…

Federal Register 2026-03690 ↗

The reporting behind this

From More Than Just Parks

US Forest Service to Clearcut One of the Last Great Groves in the TongassSep 4, 2026

It’s referred to as Unit 346 in the Twin Mountain II Timber Sale. On the ground, it’s some of the most spectacular old growth we’ve ever witnessed, and it’s marked for clearcutting.

We’re Headed to the TongassAug 22, 2026

To document and do our part to save America’s greatest old growth forest

More actions that need you

Stop the repeal of the Roadless Rule11 days left Stop harmful logging and grazing rules in the Blue Mountains5 days left Chequamegon-Nicolet west zone aspen and fir logging nears final decision3 days left

Go deeper, free

Scorecard

See how your members of Congress vote on public lands

Every representative, graded on the votes that decide the fate of parks, forests, and refuges.

Open ↗The map

See the places under active threat

A live map of the parks, monuments, and wild country in the crosshairs right now.

Open ↗

A wrong fact, a dead link, a form that wouldn’t take your letter: one tap and it comes to the people who build PLAN, with this fight attached.

Know an open comment period we are missing, or spotted a wrong deadline? .