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Environmental
Division
The primary goal of the
Environmental Division is to develop workable solutions to the potential
conflict between environmental protection and the need to use offshore
oil, gas, sand, and other such resources. This work is accomplished by
two teams the
Environmental Assessment Program and the
Environmental Sciences 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. Environmental staff is involved in all
phases of OCS activity, from the development of the 5-Year Program
through platform removals.
The
Environmental Assessment Program (EAP)
is an integral part of MMS. The Branch of Environmental Assessment (BEA)
prepares program level
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and OCS Lands Act analyses;
provides oversight, policy guidance, and direction for NEPA and other
environmental laws and regulations affecting OCS activities; and
participates in international conventions and treaty activities.
The Branch of Environmental
Assessment (BEA) conducts the environmental analysis for the annual
review of the 5-year program. Every five years the MMS implements a program
with a schedule of offshore oil and gas lease sales (auctions) to be
conducted during the next proposed 5-year period. The BEA’s role in the
development process for each 5-year oil and gas leasing program includes the
preparation of an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in accordance with the (NEPA) for
each 5-year oil and gas leasing program. In developing an EIS, the BEA
staff examines in detail the existing environmental and social conditions in
and near potentially affected areas and how they would be affected by each
proposed alternative. They are also responsible for overall EIS management,
review, editing, writing of some sections, document compilation, conducting
public hearings, and liaison with the Department, other Agencies, the
States, and the public. The MMS regional offices prepare major analytical
sections of the document.
The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act
(OCSLA) requires examination of environmental sensitivity and marine
productivity in potential lease areas for the 5-Year Program. Environmental
sensitivity and marine productivity are two of the prime considerations in
the Secretary of the Interior’s decision about size, timing, and location of
future lease sales.
The Environmental Sciences Branch
(ESB) provides policy guidance and program direction and oversight for the
MMS
Environmental Studies Program and the MMS
Oil Spill Modeling Program.
The
Environmental Studies Program (ESP) was initiated in 1973 as a means to
gather and synthesize environmental and social and economic science
information to help decision-makers understand the potential effects of
policy decisions concerning the offshore oil and gas program. The Outer
Continental Shelf Lands Act established policy for the management of the OCS
natural gas and oil-leasing program and for the protection of marine and
coastal environments. Section 20 of the Act authorizes the ESP and
establishes three general goals for the program:
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Establish information needed for
assessment and management of environmental impacts on the human, marine,
and coastal environments of the OCS and the potential affected coastal
areas;
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Predict impacts on marine biota which may
result from chronic, low level pollution or large spills associated with
OCS production, from drilling fluids and cuttings discharges, pipeline
emplacement, or onshore facilities;
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Monitor human, marine, and coastal
environments to provide time series and data trend information for
identification of significant changes in the quality and productivity of
these environments, and to identify the causes of these changes
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The ESP spends about $17 million per year
on studies. Some topic examples include biological studies, oceanographic studies, social science studies,
and atmospheric science studies.
Descriptions of current studies and
of some completed studies can be found on the
Environmental
Sciences website.
Academic Backgrounds That
May Be Sought by the
Environmental Division for Future Employees
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Biologist (marine, fisheries,
ornithology, ecology)
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Oceanographer (physical,
biological)
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Meteorology
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Sociology
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Economics
Work related backgrounds (experience or
exposure) that may be sought by the Environmental Division for future
employees
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Environmental Impact
Statements, Environmental Assessments
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Familiarity with pertinent
Federal Regulations (e.g. Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, Clean Water
Act, Clean Air Act, NEPA, Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act, Marine Mammals Protection Act, Endangered Species Act)
More Information on the
Responsibilities of the Environmental Division
The
Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA), passed in 1993, requires
that agencies of the federal government consider how to measure their
performance and how to use those measurements to make improvements. The
goal of the strategic plan to implement this consideration is to “Provide
for safe and environmentally sound mineral development of the OCS, and
ensure that the public receives fair value.” The Environmental Division
strives to help archive and demonstrate a decrease in the number of adverse
environmental impacts per OCS mineral development activity.
Because all of MMS’s activities have an
environmental component personnel assigned to either of the Division’s
Branch’s may become involved in the application of many different
regulations besides the OCSLA. They include but are not limited to:
Fishery Conservation
and Management Act (Act) of 1976 (16
U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) established
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Last Updated:
10/22/2007,
01:47:13 PM
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