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Protective Measures

In 1978, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) defined mitigation as a 5-step process.

	Avoidance—The avoidance of an impact altogether by not taking a certain action or part of an action.
	Minimization—The minimizing of impacts by limiting the degree or magnitude of the action and its implementation.
	Restoration—The rectifying of the impact by repairing, rehabilitation, or restoring the affected environment.
	Maintenance—The reducing or eliminating of the impact over time by preservation and maintenance operations during the life of the action.
	Compensation—The compensation for the impact by replacing or providing substitute resources or environments.

Two separate methods are routinely used to ensure compliance with federal regulations of the OCS; Lease Stipulations, and site-specific mitigations that are attached during project reviews by MMS.

Mitigation measures in the form of lease stipulations are added to the lease terms and are therefore enforceable as part of the lease. Lease stipulations have been used that include the Topographic Features Stipulation, the Live Bottom (Pinnacle Trend) Stipulation, and the Military Areas Stipulation. In addition, each exploration and development plan, as well as any pipeline applications that may result from a lease sale, will undergo a NEPA review, and additional project-specific mitigations may be applied as conditions of plan approval. The MMS has the authority to monitor and enforce these conditions, and under 30 CFR 250 Subpart N, may seek remedies and penalties from any operator that fails to comply with the conditions of permit approvals, including stipulations and other mitigating measures.

Many of these mitigating measures have been adopted and incorporated into regulations and/or guidelines governing OCS exploration, development, and production activities. All plans for OCS activities go through MMS review and approval to ensure compliance with established laws and regulations. Mitigating measures must be incorporated and documented in plans submitted to MMS. Operational compliance is enforced through the MMS on-site inspection program.

Sample mitigating measures that are a standard part of the MMS program limit the size of charges used for explosive platform removal; require placing explosive charges at least 5 m below the mudline; ensure site clearance procedures to eliminate potential snags to cOEMMercial fishing nets; and require surveys to detect and avoid archaeological sites and biologically-sensitive areas such as pinnacles, low-relief live bottoms, and chemosynthetic cOEMMunities.

Some MMS-identified mitigating measures are incorporated into OCS operations through cooperative agreements or efforts with industry and various State and Federal agencies. These include NOAA Fisheries’s Observer Program to protect marine mammals and sea turtles during explosive removals, regulations on minimum helicopter altitudes to prevent disturbance of wildlife, labeling operational supplies to track possible sources of accidental debris loss, development of methods of pipeline landfall to eliminate impacts to barrier beaches, and semiannual beach cleanup events.

Notices to Lessees and Operators (NTL's) are formal documents that provide clarification, description, or interpretation of a regulation or OCS standard; provide guidelines on the implementation of a special lease stipulation or regional requirement; provide a better understanding of the scope and meaning of a regulation by explaining MMS interpretation of a requirement; or transmit administrative information such as current telephone listings and a change in MMS personnel or office address.

A complete list of active mitigations routinely used offshore can be found here.