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 The
Minerals Management Service's (MMS) Environmental Program is comprised of two
principal program areas, the Environmental Sciences
Program and the Environmental Assessment Program.
Both components directly support all MMS activities (the Regulatory, Resource Evaluation,
and Leasing Programs) which manage the Nation's Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) energy and
non-energy mineral resources. Thus, environmental staff is involved in all phases of OCS
activity, from the development of the 5-Year Program through platform removals. A special
goal of the Environmental Program is to develop workable solutions for those industry
activities that could adversely affect environmental resources. This allows development to
continue while the environment is safeguarded.
All environmental assessment, compliance and study
activities also help MMS meet obligations required by numerous
legislative authorities, such as the OCS Lands Act (OCSLA), the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Endangered
Species Act (ESA), the Clean Air Act (CAA), and the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90).
Objectives:
 | Provide the best available scientific and technical
information to support decisions on the offshore gas, oil and hard minerals program which
may have the potential to affect environmental, social and economic conditions. |
| Monitor post-lease mineral resource development to
determine the extent and duration of environmental effects and potential mitigation
measures that can be used to minimize impacts. |
| Collect and make available to the public information needed
to analyze, discuss and guide future decisions on exploration, development, and production
and lease sales proposed for the 5-year Program. Increase access to, and usefulness of,
information on the environmental, social and economic effects of industry activities on
exploration and development of OCS resources to support MMS and other agencies on
environmental rulemaking affecting OCS activities. |
One key method of developing workable solutions is
multi-disciplinary problem solving with close coordination and cooperation with numerous
public, private business, and government interests. For example, the MMS has a cooperative
program with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (FWS), EPA, and several Gulf
of Mexico (GOM) States and industry to assess air quality impacts from OCS activities on
the Breton
National Wilderness Area (NWA) located in the GOM. Likewise, MMS has worked with the National Marine Fisheries Service
(NMFS) and industry to develop reasonable safeguards for endangered turtles during removal
of platforms in the GOM. In the area of oil spill analysis, MMS uses sophisticated ocean
circulation modeling to analyze the potential risks of oil spills from OCS activities.
Through this modeling, the MMS has supported the U.S. Coast Guard in its analyses required by the OPA '90
regarding tanker transportation off U.S. coasts, and the Department of Commerce for its evaluation for Alaska North
Slope oil exports.
In the upcoming years, the
Environmental Program will continue to stress the need to obtain high-quality, defensible
scientific information that can then be used as a basis for making OCS Program and
environmental compliance decisions on OCS activities.
For more information, contact Elizabeth
Burkhard.
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