Workshop on Environmental Research Needs in Support of Potential Virginia Offshore Oil and Gas Activities

The MMS, a bureau within the Department of the Interior, sponsored a workshop on the environmental research needs in support of potential Virginia offshore oil and gas activities 3 and 4 December 2008, in Williamsburg, Virginia. The focus of the workshop was to assess the existing scientific knowledgebase along the Virginia Coast and the information gaps that need to 2 be addressed should a lease sale for oil and gas activities be held for the Virginia outer continental shelf. This report summarizes the outcome of the workshop

Fishery databases : description, documentation and narrative for the State of Oregon : final report

In 1987, U.S. Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) began a new proposed 5-Year Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program for mid-1987 through mid-1992. Proposed OCS Lease Sale 132 (off Oregon and Washington) was included in this 5-Year Program. Under the agreement, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) developed quantitative and qualitative databases describing the major fisheries occurring off Oregon. ODFW developed databases summarizing the Oregon groundfish trawl fishery (1980-1989), the Oregon shrimp trawl fishery (1980-198), the Oregon scallop fishery (1981-1985), the Washington shrimp trawl fishery (1985-1987), and the Oregon salmon troll fishery by port (1979-1988). ODFW also produced qualitative distributional maps of selected Oregon fisheries. . . Twenty nine quantitative fishery databases were produced for MMS using existing commercial trawl logbooks and delivery records. Qualitative maps of fishery distribution were developed based on interviews with fishers and fishery biologists... Significant Conclusions: The quantitative fishery information includes groundfish, shrimp, and scallop fishery databases. These provide a detailed geographic representation of the fisheries by month, gear, and species. The data can be summarized in their present fine-resolution format or be re-combined to characterize the fishery according to aggregated data groupings. Uses of the data include identifying fisheries that are most likely to be impacted by a proposed development, identifying potential area use conflicts, and quantifying specific fishery impacts by gear, time of year, block location, and species. The qualitative fishery maps provide general locations of fishing areas for several Oregon fisheries. Study Results: The groundfish, shrimp, and scallop fishery data files summarize catch in pounds and fishing effort in trawl hours within a 5 minute latitude by 5 minute longitude geographic grid system extending from Cape Mendocino, California to Cape Flattery, Washington. The databases provide a detailed geographic representation of the fisheries by month, gear, and species. The salmon database provides landings by port. The qualitative fishery maps summarize catch areas for the following fisheries: ocean salmon troll, dungeness crab, pot and longline groundfish, sea urchins, Pacific herring, squid, razor clam, and sport fishing charter boats. -- Technical Summary, p.[v-vi])MMS 92-0016 "This study is supported by U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Minerals Management Service, Pacific OCS Region ... under contract no. 14-12-0001- 30459." Includes maps of fishing grounds and towboat lanes. Paper copies of this report are available at Guin and Valley Libraries: SH214.4 .F5741 1992

Integrating Human Health into Environmental Impact Assessment: An Unrealized Opportunity for Environmental Health and Justice

The National Environmental Policy Act and related state laws require many public agencies to analyze and disclose potentially significant environmental effects of agency actions, including effects on human health. In this paper we review the purpose and procedures of environmental impact assessment (EIA), existing regulatory requirements for health effects analysis, and potential barriers to and opportunities for improving integration of human health concerns within the EIA process. We use statutes, regulations, guidelines, court opinions, and empirical research on EIA along with recent case examples of integrated health impact assessment (HIA)/EIA at both the state and federal level. We extract lessons and recommendations for integrated HIA/EIA practice from both existing practices as well as case studies. The case studies demonstrate the adequacy, scope, and power of existing statutory requirements for health analysis within EIA. The following support the success of integrated HIA/EIA: a proponent recognizing EIA as an available regulatory strategy for public health; the openness of the agency conducting the EIA; involvement of public health institutions; and complementary objectives among community stakeholders and health practitioners. We recommend greater collaboration among institutions responsible for EIA, public health institutions, and affected stakeholders along with guidance, resources, and training for integrated HIA/EIA practice

Environmental impacts of the deep-water oil and gas industry: a review to guide management strategies

The industrialization of the deep sea is expanding worldwide. Increasing oil and gas exploration activities in the absence of sufficient baseline data in deep-sea ecosystems has made environmental management challenging. Here, we review the types of activities that are associated with global offshore oil and gas development in water depths over 200 m, the typical impacts of these activities, some of the more extreme impacts of accidental oil and gas releases, and the current state of management in the major regions of offshore industrial activity including 18 exclusive economic zones. Direct impacts of infrastructure installation, including sediment resuspension and burial by seafloor anchors and pipelines, are typically restricted to a radius of ~100 m on from the installation on the seafloor. Discharges of water-based and low-toxicity oil-based drilling muds and produced water can extend over 2 km, while the ecological impacts at the population and community levels on the seafloor are most commonly on the order of 200–300 m from their source. These impacts may persist in the deep sea for many years and likely longer for its more fragile ecosystems, such as cold-water corals. This synthesis of information provides the basis for a series of recommendations for the management of offshore oil and gas development. An effective management strategy, aimed at minimizing risk of significant environmental harm, will typically encompass regulations of the activity itself (e.g., discharge practices, materials used), combined with spatial (e.g., avoidance rules and marine protected areas), and temporal measures (e.g., restricted activities during peak reproductive periods). Spatial management measures that encompass representatives of all of the regional deep-sea community types is important in this context. Implementation of these management strategies should consider minimum buffer zones to displace industrial activity beyond the range of typical impacts: at least 2 km from any discharge points and surface infrastructure and 200 m from seafloor infrastructure with no expected discharges. Although managing natural resources is, arguably, more challenging in deep-water environments, inclusion of these proven conservation tools contributes to robust environmental management strategies for oil and gas extraction in the deep sea.Copyright © 2016 Cordes, Jones, Schlacher, Amon, Bernardino, Brooke, Carney, DeLeo, Dunlop, Escobar-Briones, Gates, Génio, Gobin, Henry, Herrera, Hoyt, Joye, Kark, Mestre, Metaxas, Pfeifer, Sink, Sweetman and Witte. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms

Minerals Management Service (MMS)

This website contains information about the Minerals Management Service (MMS) which manages resources on the outer continental shelf (OCS) including natural gas, oil, and other minerals. The pages include information about the programs administered by the MMS, links related to the Deepwater Horizon incident, and other resources related to the work of the agency

High Island Area East Addition Texas.

Map shows the Outer Continental Shelf along the Texas coastline. Includes block diagrams and "Texas Gulf coast index" map. Scale [1:250,000]

Sabine Pass Area Texas.

Map shows Sabine Pass geology, including the Louisiana Gulf Coast index map. Scale [ca. 1:250,000]

High Island Area South Addition Texas.

Shows the Outer Continental Shelf along the Texas coastline. Includes block diagrams and "Texas Gulf coast index" map. Scale [1:250,000]