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Environmental Studies Program Partnerships:
The ESP actively seeks partnerships with stakeholders who are involved with, or
affected by, the oil and gas resource management activities. Not only do partnerships
result in important consensus building, but within the current environment of
ever-constrained budgets, they also afford an opportunity for leveraging dollars and
accomplishing research objectives that might not be attainable otherwise.
 The MMS has
established key research partnerships through the Coastal Marine
Institute initiatives in Louisiana, Alaska, and California. In addition, several
partnerships focusing on the development of Geographical Information System resources are
in place with the Gulf Coast States and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration.
The marine minerals program has partnered with various coastal States to locate suitable
sources of offshore sand for nourishment of nearby beaches and to conduct environmental
studies evaluating potential dredging impacts before any operations.
A principal goal of the MMS's Offshore Program is to
obtain environmental and technical engineering information that can be used to help assess
the potential and real effects of the OCS offshore oil and gas program. The Technology
Assessment and Research (TAR) and Environmental Studies Program (ESP) within
the Offshore Program achieve this by conducting interdisciplinary cooperative
research projects. These joint efforts allow for a broader research scope and help to
maximize the efficient use of the funds available for studies. The following is an example
of joint study efforts between the ESB and TAR.
Cooperative, cost-sharing arrangements have also been made with other
government agencies and private dredging contractors in the United Kingdom to study the
potential impacts of extracting sand and gravel for use as construction aggregate. The
United Kingdom currently gets approximately 30 percent of its construction aggregate from
the offshore area.
For more information, contact Elizabeth
Burkhard.
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