|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
The Office of Offshore Alternative Energy Programs (OAEP) oversees development of offshore alternative energy projects on the OCS. This new activity in the marine environment requires an assessment of the potential environmental impacts to resources on the OCS. Through the Environmental Studies Program (ESP), MMS will collect information to be used in this assessment. The Bureau’s responsibilities include determining and evaluating the effects of OCS activities on natural, historical, and human resources and the appropriate monitoring and mitigating of those effects. The ESP is required by the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, as amended in 1978 (OCSLAA) to provide information for sound decision-making and management. The ESP conducts research across the spectrum of the physical, biological and socioeconomic environments as required by the OCSLA and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). The ESP Alternative Energy Studies Development Plan for Fiscal Years 2009 – 2011 (241.13 KB; PDF) identifies information needs for the Alternative Energy Program, presents profiles of the studies proposed for Fiscal Year 2009 and 2010, and provides topical areas for Fiscal Year 2011 and beyond.Additionally, the Technology Assessment & Research (TA&R) Program is a research element encompassed by the MMS Regulatory Program. The TA&R Program was established in the 1970's to ensure that industry operations on the Outer Continental Shelf incorporated the use of the Best Available and Safest Technologies subsequently required through the 1978 OCSLA amendments. The Program supports research associated with operational safety, engineering standards and pollution prevention. TA&R studies related to alternative energy and alternate use are available online.
| Privacy | Disclaimers | Accessibility | Topic Index | FOIA | Last Updated: 09/03/2008 04:10:26 PM |