E.O. 13089 - The Flower Garden Banks
The Flower Garden Banks are a pair of topographic features that rise to
within 60 feet of the water surface and are topped by assemblages of reef-building corals
and associated organisms. The high diversity reef covers nearly 300 acres at the
East bank and 100 acres at the West bank. The Flower Gardens were designated as a
National Marine Sanctuary in 1992. The banks are located 120 miles southeast of
Galveston, Texas, a hydrocarbon-rich area of the Gulf of Mexico. Oil and gas
development is a major activity on the outer continental shelf in the Gulf of
Mexico. We protect the Flower Garden Banks and other offshore resources while
helping to meet the Nation’s need for energy by ensuring that development occurs in
an environmentally safe manner.
We have supported comprehensive mapping and study programs of the Flower Garden Banks
since the early 1970’s. At present MMS and NOAA’s National Marine
Sanctuary Program are jointly funding a long-term monitoring study to assess the health of
the Garden Banks’ coral reefs, evaluate changes in the coral population levels, coral
and algae cover, growth rates, and other community characteristics. These efforts
address concerns of gradual and punctuated degradation. Virtually no significant
changes have been detected in coral reef populations, cover, or diversity at the Flower
Garden Banks since quantitative surveys of the reefs began.
Information from Flower Garden Bank studies has proven useful in numerous MMS
management decisions related to oil and gas leasing and development. For example,
the long-term monitoring program has confirmed and continues to validate the present
understanding that lease stipulations provide effective mitigation of potential impacts
from oil and gas operations. The stipulation requiring the shunting of drill
cuttings to within 10 m of the bottom and the negligible upward transport by currents have
minimized the potential for discharged contaminants to reach the reef communities.
In addition to the ongoing monitoring program, we have worked closely with the
sanctuary manager on dive programs, developing agreements on seismic exploration, oil
spill response drills, and pipeline sitings.
For more information, contact Jill
Lewandowski.
