nteragency Decommissioning Working Group
and Action Plan
The Minerals Management Service (MMS) and the California State Lands Commission (SLC)
jointly sponsored a public workshop in 1997 entitled " Decommissioning and Removal of
Oil and Gas Facilities Offshore California: Recent Experiences and Future Deepwater
Challenges." Following the workshop, a small group of Federal, State, and local
agencies agreed to form an Interagency Decommissioning Working Group (IDWG) to develop an
action plan to guide agency efforts in addressing issues identified during the workshop.
The IDWG is composed of representatives from the MMS, SLC, California Coastal Commission,
California Department of Fish and Game, National Marine Fisheries Service, Ventura County,
and Santa Barbara County.
The goals of the Interagency Decommissioning Working Group Action Plan
are to develop a process for: (1) addressing decommissioning issues; (2) collecting,
disseminating, and sharing information with all interested parties; (3) promoting dialogue
and communication among all parties; and (4) improving interagency planning and
coordination in advance of future decommissioning projects.
The action plan identifies 28 separate issues that were raised by the workshop
participants. The issues have been grouped into five major categories: (1) Technical, (2)
Environmental, (3) Disposition, (4) Site Clearance, and (5) Policy. The plan prioritizes
issues within each category and designates agency leads for each issue.
The IDWG is currently collecting and organizing information relevant to the issues and
working with academia and other parties to address scientific issues that were identified
during the workshop. The IDWG is also planning to coordinate and organize a series of
small issue-focused forums (seminars, workshops, symposiums) to disseminate information
and facilitate dialogue and discussion among all interested parties. For additional
information, contact John Smith at (805) 389-7833.
IDWG Action
Plan (14 pages) in Adobe .pdf format.
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