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.