The MMS is charged with the orderly development of offshore energy and mineral resources on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and with safeguarding the environment affected by this development.  The Bureau's responsibilities include assessing the effects of OCS activities on natural, historical, and human resources and the appropriate monitoring and mitigating of those effects.  The Environmental Studies Program (ESP) is required by the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, as amended in 1978 (OCSLAA) to provide information for sound decisionmaking and management.  The ESP conducts research across the spectrum of the physical, biological and socioeconomic environments as required by the OCSLAA and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA).

Summary of MMS Sand and Gravel Environmental Studies

Federal OCS sand and gravel resources must be wisely managed to ensure that environmental damage to the marine and coastal environments is minimized, mitigated, or does not occur.  The MMS has focused on integrating the collected resource data provided through the State/Federal cooperative efforts with environmental information to not only identify suitable OCS and sand deposits, but also to provide needed environmental information to make decisions regarding the use of Federal sand for future beach nourishment activities.

Since 1992, MMS has spent over $9 million for marine mineral environmental studies.  Site-specific, interdisciplinary studies have been conducted in identified sand borrow areas to provide basic information on the biological character of resident benthic communities, as well as the evaluation of potential dredging effects on the local wave and current regime.

The primary purpose of MMS-funded site-specific biological studies has been to address biological concerns raised by the potential for adverse environmental impacts on marine life as a consequence of dredging sand on the OCS.  In order to develop an understanding of the baseline benthic ecological conditions at offshore borrow sites prior to any dredging activity, the MMS has funded numerous site-specific, field-oriented studies.  These studies have entailed the compilation and synthesis of existing oceanographic literature and available data sets which exist within identified offshore borrow areas, as well as biological field sampling surveys.

The biological field sampling surveys have involved the collection of traditional benthic grab samples, sediment profile camera images, fish trawls, and video sled footage.  As a result of these efforts, the MMS has been able to characterize and evaluate present benthic and pelagic communities within offshore borrow sites and address the possible effects of offshore sand dredging, including interpretations as to the potential rate and success of recolonization following cessation of dredging.  In addition, the studies present a time schedule of environmental windows that best protects benthic and pelagic species from adverse environmental effects.

The MMS has funded numerical wave modeling studies to examine the potential for alteration in the local wave field following dredging and the excavation of sand within identified borrow sites.  The modeling also explores the potential for increased wave action after dredging and any resultant adverse localized changes in erosional patterns and longshore coastal transport which might result in significant losses of beach sand after renourishment.  These efforts have enabled MMS-funded researchers to further explore the potential for changes in local sediment transport rates, as well as the cumulative physical effects of multiple dredging events.

Recognizing that the environmental effects of dredging operations in many instances are similar for all areas, generic-type studies have also been initiated to examine the effects of particular types of dredging operations on various aspects of the physical, chemical, and biological environments, and to develop or recommend appropriate mitigation, laboratory modeling, or monitoring techniques to alleviate or prevent adverse environmental impacts.

Since the Federal OCS also represents a future source of coarse sand and gravel for use as construction aggregate, MMS has also funded work in the United Kingdom to assess the potential for environmental damage associated with offshore aggregate mining in the event that such an endeavor is proposed for the U.S. OCS. These efforts have focused upon the extent and potential impacts associated with the surface and benthic plumes generated during the aggregate operation and the possible effects of these plumes on benthic organisms residing in the vicinity of the dredging operation.

The studies information is used by MMS analysis to evaluate the effects of specific proposed dredging operations, as required under current environmental laws and legislation.  The results are also incorporated, as appropriate, in lease requirements and stipulations for the dredging of OCS sand.

Program Highlights

	MMS studies to be presented at the American Shore & Beach Preservation Association meeting, “Americas Shoreline: Beach and Ecosystem Restoration in the 21st Century", September 13-15, 2004 in New Orleans, LA.
	MMS Sand and Gravel Environmental Studies Theme Section in the Journal of Coastal Research