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The Offshore Energy and Minerals Management Program (OEMM) manages research
associated with renewable energy, oil and gas operational safety, and oil
spill response. Additionally, OEMM administers
Ohmsett – The National Oil Spill
Response and Renewable Energy Test Facility, located in Leonardo, New
Jersey. Ohmsett provides oil spill response testing, training, and
research opportunities to government, industry, academia, and private
organizations on a reimbursable basis. Ohmsett is also developing the
capability to test
renewable energy wave and current systems.
(1.17 MB PDF)
The Technology Assessment and Research (TA&R) Program
is the research element of the MMS regulatory program. The
objective of the TA&R Program is: “To promote new technology and safety
through the funding of collective research with industry, academia, and
other government agencies and disseminate findings through a variety of
public forums such as workshops, conferences, publications, and the
internet”. There are three components to the TA&R Program:
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Renewable Energy Research (REnR) - The REnR program
addresses technology and engineering issues associated with renewable energy
projects in the OCS.
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Operational Safety and Engineering Research (OSER) –
The OSER program activities address technological issues associated with the
complete spectrum of oil and gas operations ranging from the drilling of
exploratory wells to the removal and decommissioning of facilities.
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Oil Spill Response Research (OSRR) – The OSRR program
activities cover a wide spectrum of oil spill response issues to improve the
knowledge and technologies used for the detection, containment and cleanup
of oil spills that may occur on the OCS. |
The
Environmental
Studies Program (ESP) conducts research and synthesizes available
environmental and social and economic science information to support
decision-making related to development of offshore energy and mineral
resources. The
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act
(286.05 KB PDF),
as amended, established policy for the management of the OCS energy and
minerals and for the protection of marine and coastal environments. Section
20 of the Act authorizes the ESP and establishes three general goals for the
program:
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To
establish the information needed for assessment and management of
environmental impacts on the human, marine, and coastal environments of
the OCS and the potentially affected coastal areas.
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To predict impacts on the marine biota which may result
from chronic, low level pollution or large spills associated with OCS
production, from drilling fluids and cuttings discharges, pipeline
emplacement, or onshore facilities.
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To monitor human, marine, and coastal environments to
provide time series and data trend information for identification of
significant changes in the quality and productivity of these
environments, and to identify the causes of these changes. |
The ESP carries out research in support of the
Renewable
Energy Program, the Oil and
Gas Program, and the
Marine Minerals Program. The applied research conducted through the
ESP contributes to management of OCS activities from the earliest stage of
OCS planning through the final removal of the OCS structure at the end of
its productive life. Some of the dominant research areas that we are
currently focusing on include: deep sea ecology (specifically in the Gulf of
Mexico); marine mammal studies (Gulf of Mexico & Alaska); fates and effects
of OCS discharges (this includes state of the art studies of ocean currents
in Gulf of Mexico, Pacific, Alaska and field and laboratory effects studies;
effects of noise on mammals and fishes); sociological and cultural effects
(Alaska and Gulf of Mexico).
Immediate access to completed ESP reports can be found in our
Environmental
Studies Program Information System, ESPIS.
Each MMS Regional Office
coordinates a regional component of the Environmental Studies Program.
Environmental studies in the Atlantic are currently overseen by the Gulf of
Mexico Region. Here is a listing directing you to ESP Studies coordinated by
our regional offices:
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