2002 OCS Scientific Committee Meeting Summary - Full Text

Tuesday, April 23, 2002

A.  Associate Director’s Presentation

Mr. Tom Readinger has recently been appointed the Associate Director for Offshore Minerals Management. As advisor to the Director, MMS, the Committee appreciates the opportunity to but also offers an opportunity for the Committee to provide direct advice and guidance on matters as they relate to the Environmental Studies Program.

Mr. Readinger presented retiring members Drs. Stan L. Albrect, Cortis Cooper, and William W. Schroeder with plaques representing their time on the Committee.    Dr. J. Frederick Grassle was not in attendance to accept his plaque personally.

have a dialogue with the Associate Director on ongoing and future issues, policies, and activities of the Bureau. This exchange not only keeps the Committee apprised of MMS direction

Below is Mr. Readinger’s presentation to the SC:

Good morning. I appreciate the opportunity to be with you once again, although this time I’m here as the new Associate Director for OEMM. As some of you know, my predecessor, Carolita Kallaur, has retired and she sends her good wishes to the Committee. I share Carolita’s enthusiasm and respect for the important work you do and welcome both the returning and especially the new members of the Committee.

"We also have a new Director, Johnnie Burton, who will be here to meet you later this morning. Tom Kitsos is now the Executive Director of the National Commission on the Oceans. We will hear more about the work of the Ocean Commission later today. For some reason, Tom thought it would be a good idea to take Ken Turgeon along with him to the Commission and Ken will also be missed by MMS. However, we are fortunate to have Jim Kendall here who is stepping into the role of MMS Chief Scientist in addition to his duties as the head of the Environmental Sciences Branch.

"Today I’d like to update you on some of the initiatives and challenges facing MMS and on which we would like to hear your advice and guidance

"Before I update you on what’s happening on a regional basis I would like to touch upon a few important national policy initiatives we have underway.

NATURAL GAS INITIATIVE

"We continue to pursue ways through which the OCS can help meet the nation's demand for natural gas. Natural gas is clearly the fuel of choice because it is the cleanest of the fossil fuels.

"Natural gas supplies about 25 percent of the Nation’s energy needs and its demand is expected to increase by almost 50 percent by 2015 to 2020. This translates from our current usage of about 22 Tcf in1998 to over 30 Tcf by 2020. The most significant increase in natural gas use will result from the production of electricity.

"According to the American Gas Association, 87% of the U.S. demand today is met by domestic production with the remaining 13% imported from Canada. Currently the OCS contributes approximately 27 percent of the U.S. domestic production. Of concern however, is that during the 1990’s, total U.S. natural gas production increased by only 9%, while imports from Canada increased by 111%.

"Because of its importance to the nation, the OCS Policy Committee established a Natural Gas Subcommittee. Their report is available on the MMS website and their recommendations have been sent to the Secretary of the Interior. The Subcommittee noted in particular that in order for the OCS to continue to provide a similar percentage (~27%) to our domestic production of natural gas we will need to increase production from the current annual rate of 5 Tcf to 7 or 8 Tcf.

"Along these lines, our recent deep gas and subsalt exploration incentives fulfill one of the Policy Committee’s recommendations. The effectiveness of this measure can be seen in the resounding success of Lease Sale 182 where 57 percent of the blocks leased were in water depths less than 200 m where these exploration targets are found.

"Our recently completed National Assessment 2000 found that there is approximately 3.5 times as much natural gas that is economically recoverable compared to our 1995 assessment. Bringing this resource to market in an environmentally sound manner is one of the challenges we must meet.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

"The MMS continues its sustainable development efforts. In 1992 the UN Conference on Environmental Development was held in Rio de Janeiro. Since then, there have been a series of Roundtable meetings gathering information for the Ninth Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development held last week in New York.

"One of the focuses in 2001 was energy. At these meetings MMS discussed how we measure our social and economic indicators and manage the resources under our purview. Hydrocarbon resources, especially natural gas, will continue to play a vital role in our economic development.

"We are committed to look for ways to ensure that these resources are developed in a manner consistent with conservation and wise use. We are supporting efforts to prepare for the upcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa this summer. This meeting will review the developments of the past 10 years since the Rio de Janeiro meeting and will make recommendations for the future.

Globalization of Offshore

"Today, many offshore oil and gas producing nations are considering what role developed standards should play in their overall regulatory regime. Governments understand that, if done correctly, a set of internationalized standards that allows for regional differences can lower costs, make more resources economic to produce, and raise worldwide safety and environmental performance.

"If done incorrectly, however, internationalized standards that are imposed on the industry can be inefficient, costly, and burdensome. To prevent this MMS is working on the U.S. Technical Advisory Group to ISO, Technical Committee 67. The standards developed by this ISO group will influence the industry for years to come.

"We have also entered into MOU’s with a number of countries including: Norway, China, Australia, Indonesia and Russia to exchange scientific and technical information related to offshore oil, gas, and mineral activity. These MOU’s allow for cooperation and information exchanges on virtually all aspects of offshore safety and environmental management.

"With funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development, MMS provides advice and assistance to such countries as Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Georgia as they continue their efforts to implement legislative and regulatory reforms providing for more stable regulatory regimes.

"MMS will also continue to assist and monitor the activities of the Convention on the Law of the Sea, the London Convention of 1972, and the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution Guidelines for offshore oil and gas operations. We have been successful in supporting negotiations with Mexico to resolve the boundary issue of the so-called "Western Gap" in the deep Gulf of Mexico.

"MMS recently helped sponsor the 2nd International Workshop on Human Factors in Offshore Operations. This meeting was just held two weeks ago with the theme "Demystifying Human Factors - Practical solutions to reduce incidents and improve safety, quality and reliability." At the meeting a new MMS Study looking at a cross-national perspective of the effects on offshore employment in the petroleum industry was presented and will soon be available on our website.

Mercury

"Under the heading "Challenges" we have recently been involved in a public controversy resulting from a series of newspaper articles on the potential for mercury contamination from discharges of drilling muds offshore. The MMS works closely with EPA to ensure that discharges do not represent a threat to the environment. We appreciate the help from your recently established Subcommittee on Mercury, which has agreed to review the literature and advise us of needed research in this area.

REGIONAL UPDATES

"I’d like to spend a few minutes highlighting what is happening in our 3 regions and in headquarters.

Gulf of Mexico:

Activities

"I’ll first turn to the Gulf of Mexico Region. On a Gulf-wide basis we now have nearly 7,500 active leases with 4,031 platforms in place on the OCS. These platforms support over 6,300 producing wells.

"I’ve already mentioned the royalty relief efforts that have been very successful in helping to bring in natural gas. Our efforts to open up deepwater tracts for oil have also been extremely successful. Drilling activity remained high in the Gulf this past year strictly because of the "deepwater" drilling which reached an all time high of 45 rigs operating in over 1,000 ft of water. We now have several documented discoveries in water depths well over 7,000 ft.

"Over half of the Gulf’s oil production and about 10 percent of its gas production comes from leases that are in water depths of over 1,000 ft. Additionally, a record 225 wells were drilled in deepwater in 2000 and in May of last year, the world record for deepwater drilling was set by Union Oil in 9,743 ft of water.

FPSO’s

"To help open up these deep-water areas, several companies are eager to use a type of production system that has never before been used in the Gulf: Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) systems. These involve produced oil being stored in the hull of the FPSO and using a shuttle tanker to ship oil to ports. The MMS decided early in its thinking that the potential impacts, newness of the technology to the Gulf, and the risks perceived by the public required the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement. Both MMS and the U.S. Coast Guard would have regulatory jurisdiction over FPSO’s and their associated shuttle tankers.

"A final EIS on FPSO systems, under MMS contract and funded by the industry consortium DeepStar, was completed in January 2001. Concurrent with the EIS, an MMS-funded Comparative Risk Analysis (CRA) was performed to compare the relative risks of an FPSO system with three currently accepted deepwater development systems: a fixed-platform production hub, a spar, and a tension leg platform (TLP). The major conclusion from the CRA and the EIS is that there are no significant differences in risks among the four systems studied. A Record of Decision was signed on January 2, 2002 that allows operators to submit plans that include FPSO’s for our evaluation.

"To date, no OCS operator has filed a proposal to use an FPSO in the Gulf. However, industry believes that FPSO’s may be the only option for developing some ultra deepwater discoveries.

Deepwater

"Your Deepwater Subcommittee was instrumental in helping in our efforts to identify the environmental and socioeconomic issues associated with all of the deepwater activities in the Gulf. This began with the April 1997 Deepwater Workshop and led to our very successful Deepwater Studies Program.

"Next month we are hosting the next Deepwater Workshop to review our efforts of the last five years and to identify any new information needs. I am very pleased that your Deepwater Subcommittee will again be at our disposal.

"Our efforts to study the effects of noise on marine mammals are also going well. We have sent the draft final Environmental Assessment out for review and expect to have it finalized in the near future. We are also progressing well with our study to monitor the effect of noise on Sperm Whales.

"And lastly for the Gulf, we recently held the first lease sale in the Eastern Gulf in over 12 years (Sale 181). MMS awarded 95 leases bringing in over $340 million. We are currently planning Eastern Gulf Sales 189 (2003) and 197 (2005) with the issuance of a Call and Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS in the Federal Register. The proposed sale area is no greater than the boundaries of the Sale 181 area and would offer only the remaining unleased area.

Pacific OCS Region:

"The Pacific Region has been an important contributor to the Nation's hydrocarbon inventory, with over 950 million barrels of oil and 1.1 trillion cubic feet of gas produced over the last 32 years. It is estimated that about 400 million barrels remain to be recovered from the 43 producing leases. There are 36 undeveloped leases that are currently under suspension.

"There is a bill being considered to buy back these leases by granting credits toward future lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico. Currently, there are no plans in MMS to move forward to develop these leases. The only activity that is expected in the Pacific Region is production from those leases that are currently producing. Due to this cutback in activity, MMS will be reducing the size of the Pacific Region office by about 50 percent.

"In addition to our manager responsibilities, MMS is acting as an advisory participant to a Joint Review Panel for the development of an Environmental Impact Report with the State of California and Santa Barbara County for the possible development of oil in the Tranquillon Ridge field in state waters. To date there is no state lease for this area

"Another area of activity for us off California is the issue of platform decommissioning. Several of the older platforms will soon reach the end of their production lifespans and we are working with the State and others to look at various decommissioning options, including the potential for conversion to artificial reefs.

"The MMS is a member of the Interagency Decommissioning Working Group, which reviews critical issues and appropriate mitigation measures for the decommissioning of offshore oil and natural gas facilities. The California State Lands Commission is another major member of the group, with a number of facilities in State waters that will eventually requirement abandonment.

"Any environmental studies conducted in the future will therefore focus on issues related to continued production and platform decommissioning.

Alaska Region:

"In Alaska, 3 sales are proposed in the Beaufort Sea, 2 in the Chukchi/Hope Basin, 2 in Cook Inlet, and one in Norton Sound. We held hearings around the State in December.

"Over the last several months, we began our planning to tentatively hold oil and gas lease sales in the Beaufort Sea and Cook Inlet during the period 2002-2007. As encouraged by the National Environmental Policy Act, we plan to prepare a single EIS for all three Beaufort sales and one EIS for the two Cook Inlet sales identified in the Proposed 5-Year Program. After the first sale in each area, MMS will prepare a consistency determination and either an environmental assessment or, if necessary, a supplemental EIS for each subsequent sale. The public will have the opportunity to comment on each sale proposal. We expect to release a draft EIS for the Beaufort Sea sales in late spring, and the Cook Inlet sales next fall.

"In January, MMS published a Call for Information to see if companies were interested in Norton Sound, and to gather information from other agencies and the public. Comments were due April 22. The approach for Norton Sound will be different than for other sale areas.

"In January, BP announced they were "shelving" the Liberty Project due to economic reasons. They plan to look at other approaches to developing the resource. MMS is completing the EIS, and will release a Final EIS to document the work done evaluating the project.

"The issue of a natural gas pipeline from Prudhoe Bay has not yet been settled. Recent activity in Congress has favored an overland route; however, a route northward to about 4 miles offshore, eastward 300 miles, then southward along the Mackenzie River, and finishing at Calgary, Alberta has a number of proponents. Most of the offshore portion of this route would be on the US OCS. If the preferred route is on the OCS, MMS would be responsible for issuing permits. A buried gas pipeline (as opposed to an oil pipeline) under the seafloor of the Beaufort Sea is a new issue. If the Beaufort OCS is the preferred route, the Alaska Region may need to conduct environmental studies on a variety of issues.

 
INTERMAR

"INTERMAR is our international activities and marine minerals division. Earlier I mentioned some of the international activities we have been pursuing in the effort to extend, expand, and share our expertise globally. A little later in the program you will hear a report on the session on our sand and gravel studies held at the Gulf Region’s Information Transfer Meeting.

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES PROGRAM

"This afternoon we will be hearing about environmental study planning in the regions. Tomorrow you will review the regional study plans for next year and the environmental questions we are trying to answer to help us manage OCS mineral development in as safe and environmentally sound a manner as we possibly can. We look forward to your able assistance on some of the key challenges we face as we attempt to formulate research plans on many present and upcoming complex issues. I’d like to thank this committee for helping us achieve our goals in the past and look forward to working with you in the future.

 

"I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have."

B.  Ocean Commission Update

Dr. James Coleman, a member of the Commission, reported on recent Commission activities. The U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy was established by the Oceans Act of 2000, and is charged with reviewing federal ocean-related programs and laws and making recommendations to the President and Congress for a coordinated and comprehensive National Ocean policy. During its 18-month investigation, the Commission examined such issues as responsible stewardship of living and non-living resources; protection of the marine environment; impact of, and protection against, natural and manmade hazards, the role of oceans in climate change, and enhancement of oceanographic science, to name but a few.

C.  OCS Policy Committee Report

Dr. George Banino presented the key discussion items from the OCS Policy Committee’s October 2001 meeting. Officers of the OCS Scientific Committee and the OCS Policy Committee routinely attend each other’s meetings and give brief presentations on the various OCS issues with which they are involved.

 

D.  Report on the GOMR ITM Session on Sand and Gravel Studies

Mr. Barry Drucker (MMS sand and gravel program), in consultation with SC members Drs. Bob Diaz and Charles Marek, presented an overview of the Information Transfer Meeting which had been held in January 2002. A series of speakers provided the results of several major and recently completed MMS-funded environmental sand and gravel studies that included site-specific and generic-oriented efforts. In addition, there were talks on related studies and activities of interest from the Army Corps of Engineers’ New York and New Orleans District offices. Several of the sessions’ speakers are presently preparing papers for inclusion in a special MMS sand and gravel issue of the Journal of Coastal Research.

 
E.  Formation of the Sand and Gravel Subcommittee

Drs. James Coleman, Robert Diaz, Duane Gill, and Denise Stephenson-Hawk were appointed to the OCS Scientific Committee Sand and Gravel Subcommittee. This subcommittee will have the task to look at protocols that went into the original leasing of offshore oil, gas, etc., in order to determine the best way to proceed. The MMS is responsible for assessing impacts on budget and planning caused by possible substantial increased in leasing and operation in the sand and gravel program.

 
F.  Mercury in the Marine Environment

The American Petroleum Institute commissioned Dr. Jerry Neff to prepare a review on the possible contribution of offshore oil and gas facilities to mercury contamination of marine fishery products. Mercury, particularly in the form of methylmercury, is extremely toxic to marine organisms, wildlife, and man. The main pathway for human exposure to methylmercury is through consumption of freshwater and marine fishery products. Dr. Neff found that the contribution of offshore oil and gas activities to the flux of mercury to the Gulf of Mexico was very small. Fish and shellfish collected near offshore platforms do not contain higher concentrations of mercury in edible tissues than the same species from elsewhere in the Gulf of Mexico. There is considerable concern throughout the US, including the Gulf of Mexico states, about mercury contamination of commercial and recreational freshwater and marine fishery products. Recent newspaper editorials identified offshore oil and gas operations as a possible source of mercury in marine fish and shellfish in the Gulf of Mexico.

 
G. GOOMEX: Experimental Design and What the Data Mean

Dr. Paul Montagna explained that the Gulf of Mexico Offshore Operations Monitoring Experiment (GOOMEX) was performed to develop and recommend sensitive and appropriate techniques for monitoring activities of offshore oil and gas production. To accomplish this goal, a broad range of biological, biochemical and chemical methodologies were tested to detect and assess potential chronic, sublethal, and long-term effects of offshore oil and gas production. GOOMEX study components included measurements of abiotic characteristics to indicate environmental state (e.g., chemical patterns in sediments and water, geological patterns, and physical patterns) and biotic responses (e.g., tissue body burdens, detoxification response by fish and invertebrates to contaminant exposure, sediment toxicity to invertebrates, meiofaunal, macrofaunal and megaepifaunal community structure, harpacticoid reproduction and population genetic structure, megaepifaunal reproduction). In general, results indicate that effects were limited to 100 m from platforms. Relative to background (i.e., = 200 m), the zone near platforms had sediments with higher levels of contaminants and toxicity; reduced levels of abundance, species diversity, genetic diversity, and reproductive success; and feeding guilds dominated by deposit feeders. The HI-A389A platform had much higher levels of contaminants and concordant biotic responses than other platforms, apparently because of near-bottom shunting to avoid dispersal to the nearby Flower Gardens.

 
H.  Director’s Presentation

Ms. Johnnie Burton is the newly-appointed Director of the MMS and this was her first meeting with the Scientific Committee.

Below is her presentation to the SC:

"Good morning. It’s a pleasure to see all of you here and I appreciate your efforts on behalf of the MMS. I wish I had more time to spend with you, as I am very interested in the science that supports our mission. Since this is my first meeting with you let me take just a moment to introduce myself.

"I began my career in teaching and after several years went into business for myself. I built data bases of oil and gas drilling information for 10 years and was vice president of a small company. I then moved on to work in state government including a stint as Director of Revenue for Wyoming. It was while I was in that capacity that I served as a member of the Royalty Policy Committee, so I am familiar with the role that advisory committees play in formulating MMS policy.

"When I was asked to serve as Director of MMS — I was delighted to accept. Why? I have always been interested in the energy sector and this is an area in which MMS has an important role to play.

"In the U.S. we consume an immense amount of energy resources — we use far more than we produce. But, our economy leads to a fantastic array of goods and services for the U.S. and the world. We can be more efficient. Conservation and proper management are key. But, the bottom line is that we rely too much on other countries for our energy supply and this is a dangerous thing. It makes our homeland less secure.

"Recent events in the Middle East make it clear just how important issues pertaining to our long-term energy needs really are.

"Over roughly the next 20 years, U.S. oil consumption is projected to grow by over 6 million barrels per day. However, if our domestic oil production follows the same historical pattern of the last 10 years, we will produce approximately 1.5 million barrels per day less in 2020 than today. We already import about 56 to 57 percent of our oil; this change in consumption and production would leave us importing 72 percent of the oil that our nation uses.

"MMS is the key bureau for production of energy on Federal lands and plays a key role in making our country safe and secure. Currently, about 27 percent of our nation’s oil and natural gas are produced from the OCS.
 

Importance of the National Energy Policy

"MMS has a key role to play in the President’s National Energy Policy in maximizing production from the OCS and helping us to maintain control of our nation’s energy supply.

"As Secretary Norton has said "What has become clear is that each of us is striving to attain the same goal - a secure energy supply while protecting the environment." The President's national energy plan has provisions to increase energy production while protecting our environment. I am truly amazed by the ingenuity of our citizens, scientists, and industries that allows us to produce energy with minimal impact on our environment.

"Here at MMS, we are continually looking for new ways to safely produce the energy our country needs:

From 1985 to 2000 we have seen six billion barrels of oil produced from the OCS with less than one one-thousandth of a percent spilling into the environment.

Recently a Record of Decision was issued by MMS to allow FPSO (large ship-based floating production, storage, and offloading systems) to operate in the Gulf of Mexico.

We have seen the success of deep-water royalty relief in encouraging resource development from leases far off the coast. The recent success of Lease Sale 182 in the Gulf of Mexico can be partially attributed to the similar royalty relief offered for gas found deeper than 15,000 ft., making near- shore blocks more attractive.

We have passed a major milestone this past year in our Alaska Region with our first production of Federal oil from the Beaufort Sea.

"As we look to begin our next 5-Year Program, we recognize that we need to continue efforts to find and produce new resources. We also recognize that we will need to work just as hard to identify any new environmental issues and address them as early and effectively as possible.

Importance of the Scientific Committee

"The efforts of your Committee are an important step in anticipating and addressing these environmental issues and meeting the dual goal of increasing our domestic energy supply while maintaining the health of our environment.
 

"I would like to pass on a quote that Secretary Norton has shared, "A healthy community is dependent on three principles:
 

	a healthy population,
	a healthy economy, and
	a healthy environment.

"When any one of these is out of balance, the community's health suffers."

However, I am convinced that these seemingly competing goals can be achieved and sustained.

"During my review of this Committee’s activities I was struck by how quickly, and often, you have helped MMS stay on top of environmental issues.

"Your Deepwater Subcommittee proved invaluable in the development of our very successful Deepwater Studies Program. I understand that their efforts did not end there. The Subcommittee is now preparing to join us next month in New Orleans for a 5-year review of the Deepwater Program and for discussions of a strategy for the next five years.

"As a result of recent newspaper articles concerning mercury in the marine environment, and the resulting public concern, you formed a Mercury Subcommittee to provide guidance on what actions the MMS should take regarding this issue. This Subcommittee includes not only new members, but also a former member as well. I urge you to consider the public concerns about this issue, as well as the science aspects.

"At this meeting you will also be forming the Sand and Gravel Subcommittee to address the special environmental needs associated with these activities. This will be most helpful to our mission in that important area.

"Your diligence and willingness to hit the ground running is remarkable. I understand that for several of you, this is your last meeting as Committee members. While I have not had the opportunity to work with you directly, please accept my sincerest appreciation for your contributions. I have heard only glowing reports of the guidance you have provided; you will be missed.

"For your six new members, welcome to our Committee and let me be the first to tell you that the contributions you make will not only serve the interests of MMS and the Department, but are important to our Nation. The OCS Scientific Committee is an important component of our Environmental Studies Program and I thank you in advance for your efforts.

"The MMS has been a leader in managing ocean resources for many years and we are pleased to share this experience. Currently, the President’s Commission on Ocean Policy is assessing a wide range of challenging issues, including: stewardship of living and non-living resources;

	ocean and coastal pollution;
	ocean governance; and
	the role of oceans in climate change, to list but a few.

"Chris Oynes, Director of our Gulf of Mexico Region, presented testimony to the Commission earlier this year on our experiences and the issues that we see facing the ocean community. Issues that he shared with the Commission included:

	the need for clear authority in regulatory structure for ocean decisions,
	the establishment of a legal authority for non-energy facilities and
	the need for Coastal Zone Consistency review that will help facilitate clear and predictable consistency for OCS  decisions.

"We intend to remain active in representing the activities and issues, of both the oil and gas and marine minerals programs as the Commission continues its efforts to formulate recommendations to improve ocean governance.

"I would also like to thank Dr. James Coleman for not only serving on the Ocean Commission but also for setting aside the time to continue his participation in this Committee.
 

Closing

"Again, I want to thank you all for being here and assure you that I am committed to working with all of you towards the goal of effectively managing our Nation’s resources.

"If you haven’t already heard of Secretary Norton’s four C's of Consultation, Cooperation and Communication, all in the service of Conservation, you will in the future. These four points will serve as a measure of the actions we take in managing the OCS to ensure that the American people receive the absolute best from, and for, their public lands. Thank you.

"I’d be happy to respond to any questions you may have and will rely on my staff to help me in answering them."

I. NMFS Regulations/Explosive Removals
 

Ms. Judy Wilson reported on the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Regulations/Explosive Removals. She stated that production declines in mature oil and gas fields of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico will accelerate as reserves continue to be depleted in the years to come. MMS regulations and leases require lessees to remove surplus structures such as platform jackets, caissons and casings within 1 year after lease expiration. She explained that explosive charges are often favored for severing structural and production members, and exploratory wells to allow structure removal since explosives are often safer than other methods, they are cost-effective, and they are frequently the only practical method of removing certain types of structures.
 

J.  Regional Priorities and Environmental Information Needs
 

MMS Headquarters and Regional Studies presentations outlined the overall research needs and priorities of the National and Regional Studies Programs. Presentations addressed current issues, information/knowledge gaps, the most pressing research needs, how the various disciplines fit together in the overall picture, and future Studies efforts, in terms of expenditures and prioritization.

April 24, 2002

The Scientific Committee met with each region in Subcommittee (now referred to as Discipline Breakout Groups). These Discipline Breakout Groups focused on Physical Oceanography, Biology/Ecology, and Socioeconomics regarding future environmental research work and whether proposed regional studies addressed MMS programs informational needs for decision making.

April 25, 2002

 
K.  Discipline Subcommittee Reports

Reports from the previous day’s breakout sessions were presented and are summarized as follows:

Physical Oceanography

Gulf of Mexico OCS Region. Six studies were evaluated:

1. Central Gulf of Mexico Midslope Physical Oceanography. The Group decided that this study is premature and that squid/food situation first needs to be determined;
2. Western Gulf of Mexico Study. It was suggested that this study be started now to get ahead of the development trend and postpone Physical Oceanography Slope and Rise study for 1 year;
3. Hindcast DeSota Canyon Modeling. A new modeling study should not be performed, but current modeling should continue;
4. Gulf-Wide Hydrography Study. The Group stated that coordination with the Mexican Government, the Navy, and National Marine Fisheries Service critical;
5. Synthesis of Physical Oceanography and Geology (Book Series). An outline and proposed authors should be reviewed by SC members.
    

Alaska OCS Region. Six studies were evaluated:

1. The Arctic Nearshore Impact Monitoring in Development Area study should continue;
    
2. Sea Ice Modeling. This should begin after the Workshop on Physical Oceanography in the Beaufort Sea is completed;
    
3. Beaufort Sea Nearshore Currents;
    
4. Meteorological Collection and Synthesis. This study should continue;
    
5. Mapping of Leads and Landfast Ice. This study should continue;
    
6. Sea Level/Climate Change. The Group suggested that this be performed as a Coastal Marine Institute study.
    

Pacific OCS Region. Two studies were evaluated:

1. El Nino Monitoring add-on. The Group recommended that this Santa Barbara Channel/Santa Maria Basin monitoring program serve as a model of an observing system for national program;
    
2. Littoral Transport study. This study does not appear to be an Environmental Study.
    

A concern of the Group is Contract Management.

National. Two studies were evaluated:

1. Sand and Gravel. The Group stated that environmentally-friendly dredging should be done and discussed multiple dredging impacts;
    
2. Wetting/Drying Cell Modeling. Should be performed only where tides are large and existing model/drifter verification is done, the MMS should consider using the existing 2-D Model, and this study should be reevaluated to determine need.
    

Social Science

Alaska OCS Region. Several issues were discussed:

1. Drift Net Fishing. The structure of commercial fishing is changing and the reasons for the change need to be explored. The Group suggested potential mitigation measures be examined in light of economic tradeoffs.
    
2. Issues in Cook Inlet. Would existing service bases be used to determine infrastructure? Would alternative sites need to be developed, in turn, having the potential of creating social impact? May need community social impact assessment studies in the future.
    
3. Oil Spill Litigation. It would be useful to examine other communities in area. Pre-settlement anticipated effects (baseline data). Pre-settlement effects – study actual changes after the money from the settlement arrives. Nobody knows when the court decision will be made (would need to recognize that the ending date of this project is unknown – must be flexible). Investigation of native villages may be problematic because of EVOS trustee council purchase of Native lands;
    
4. Visual Documentation of Bowhead Whale Hunt. The Group agreed that this is a worthwhile study.
    

Gulf of Mexico OCS Region. The priority list for the Gulf of Mexico Region is Labor Demand, Ports and Cumulative Effects, and Shipwrecks. These issues were discussed at length:

1. Cumulative effects series. This is valuable, but the Group suggested that the term "cumulative" be changed to "cycle" of change to highlight those cycles;
    
2. Port and port communities. Based on what has happened, the Group asked why have some communities been more successful in dealing with oil and gas development than others? What institutions have played a positive/negative role and what is the community capacity for change? Scoping fits into ports study and should be done in each port community (perhaps do focus groups with various stakeholders groups);
    
3. Focus groups should explore new software (decision support technology) and implement with port and scoping efforts;
    
4. Institutional History. Regulatory history and consequences of industry actions should be understood in retrospect (How has uncertainty been addressed in MMS decisionmaking?).
    

Pacific OCS Region. Two studies were discussed:

1. Fishing Public’s Perception. This study should be inclusive of all rig sport fishing activities and how they are used as reefs and understood in terms of their value, be integrated with MMS beach study and other ongoing research efforts, charter and other sports fishermen should be interviewed, and information is not only needed but is necessary for decommissioning;
    
2. Risk Perception. This study should be considered at national level, at least conceptually. Information needs to be taken from Risk Perception study to determine how to use it across the US – communicate risk. Understand why people are more supportive of "state efforts" and not Federal, and "risk" may be based more on "power relationships and the distribution of power" rather than attitudes towards MMS or oil;

The Group commented that Dr. Fred Piltz’s presentation concerning subject areas quality of information was excellent. With the downsizing of the Pacific OCS Region office, it is important that MMS not lose sight of its responsibility to monitor the environment. Historical lifecycle study effect oil and gas over time – how have effects chanted and lessened – beyond cumulative effects.

National. Three issues were discussed:

1. Impacts of oil spills. The Group urged MMS to focus on how disasters were handled or dealt with in addition to documented effects and suggested that perhaps a content analysis of media accounts;
    
2. Economic Modeling. MMS should move in direction of making the model more dynamic. Formal models sometimes seduce you into think you know more than you do. Tracking model parameters may show that frequent updating is not necessary. Avoid unnecessary detail.
    
3. Commerce and Recreational Fishing and Dredging. The Group agreed that this is a useful study and that it should investigate mitigation measures to minimize impacts of dredging on fishing. By law, MMS does not calculate the impacts of sand and gravel use for beach enhancement. This is a purview of the Army Corps of Engineers. This division of responsibility for impact analysis is poor public policy.

Overall Comment. The Group stated that perception of risk is a continuing problem of communication in all of the regions and the MMS should consider a study to analyze risk communication covering all regions.
 

Biology/Ecology

Alaska OCS Region. The Group recommended

1. that recognized experts in fisheries modeling and stock exploitation and long-term climate related fluctuations be invited to the conference Nuiqsut on arctic cisco,
    
2. population genetic studies be performed to better understand the dynamics of arctic cisco populations.

Gulf of Mexico OCS Region. The Group commented that;

1. the correlation between the physical oceanography study and the sperm whale study is premature,
    
2. the use of existing high resolution sonar imagery should be coordinated with direct observations from submersibles in an efficient way to identify sites for Lophelia,
    
3. the Group would appreciate copies of all posters and teachers’ packets.
    

Pacific OCS Region.  The Group commented that

1. long-term rocky intertidal monitoring program has great value to MMS as well as to the general scientific community and should be continued.
    
2. long-term ecological database for showing anthropogenic and natural environmental effects,
    
3. long-term historical data should be related to current survey data,
    
4. continued collaborations with PISCO are encouraged.
    

National. The Group recommended that a long-term strategic plan for the sand and gravel program be developed to identify the basis issues and plan specific integrated studies to assess environmental effects of sand mining.

 

General Comments:

Information synthesis.  These studies are strongly supported. Reviewing existing data and thinking about how it is used is a very valuable way for MMS to spend its money.

Data accessibility.  Database development and archiving of material collected by MMS studies is strongly encouraged. MMS should develop accessible tracking system for databases and material to use for environmental analyses and to make data from previous and current studies available on the Internet.

Context. Provide a list of issues and questions addressed over the last 4 to 5 years to put present studies in context.

Publications. Researchers are encouraged to publish results of studies in peer reviewed journals. MMS should provide to the Group a bibliography of all articles published in the previous year that were funded by the program.

Outreach. MMS should engage in more outreach in order to keep the public aware of scientific findings. The posters done in the Gulf are a good example.

Partnering. The Group commented those groups that are partnering with other agencies and interest and encourage other regions to do the same.

Patents. MMS should be proactive and consider patent issues now.  Patentable products discovered using MMS funds should be treated according to a pre-specified formula, especially with respect to bioprospecting.
 

L. Committee Business

Items for the Letter to the Director.

	Emphasize survey researches in Socioeconomic studies is the only way to obtain data. There will be no frivolous surveys conducted, surveys are methodically logical, and the public is anxious to be surveyed.
	Reiterate the importance to hire a communications expert.
	Recommended that the Pacific OCS Region maintain quality  research.
	Comment that this meeting was extremely productive.
	Asked that handout material be provided to the SC prior to meetings via electronically.

Each of the Subcommittees and its members was identified.

	Sand and Gravel Subcommittee: Drs. James Coleman, Robert Diaz, Duane Gill, and Chuck Marek.
	Beaufort Sea Monitoring Issues Subcommittee: Drs. Michael Castellini, Scott Goldsmith, Lynda Shapiro, and William Schroeder.
	Deepwater Subcommittee and Floating Production, Storage and Offloading Subcommittee: Drs. James Coleman, Cortis Cooper, and William Schroeder.
	Mercury in the Gulf of Mexico Subcommittee: Drs. Eric Crecelius, Livingston Marshall, William Schroeder, and Denise Stephenson-Hawk.

The Mercury Subcommittee focus in on information gathering. Dr. Schroeder gave an overview of the previous evening Subcommittee meeting.  Dr. Jerry Neff's report is being reviewed by the American Petroleum Institute and will be available in time for the Mercury Forum being held
May 20-21, 2002.
 

Previous meeting synopsis

After having the previous meeting synopsis faxed to each Committee member and receiving two approvals, it was requested that it be resent via electronically with the subject line being "Action Required".

The next meeting of the OCS SC will be held in April 2003.