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News Media
Contact: |
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Melissa Schwartz,
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Scott Smullen, NOAA (202)
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BOEMRE and NOAA to Increase Coordination, Collaboration on Offshore Energy Development and Environmental Stewardship
WASHINGTON – As the
International Oil Spill Conference kicks off in Portland, Ore.
today, co-sponsors the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation
and Enforcement (BOEMRE) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) announced that they have signed a landmark
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to increase their coordination and
collaboration to ensure the environmentally sound
offshore energy development.
“BOEMRE and NOAA have enjoyed a long
and productive relationship, but there is room for improvement. We
can and will broaden and enhance the communication, cooperation and
collaboration between our agencies,” said BOEMRE Director Michael R.
Bromwich. “This MOU creates new mechanisms to ensure the early and
close coordination of BOEMRE and NOAA science and agency priorities
to promote stronger environmental stewardship and stimulate greater
efficiency in developing and implementing Outer Continental Shelf
(OCS) energy policy and conservation.”
“This agreement improves how we
coordinate and collaborate to ensure energy resources are developed
in an environmentally sound manner that protects marine life and
ecosystems under our respective authorities,” said Jane Lubchenco,
Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and
NOAA administrator. “We look forward to continuing to work with
BOEMRE to ensure NOAA science informs offshore energy development
and oil spill response.”
This MOU, which is consistent with
recommendations from the National Commission on the Deepwater
Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, specifies how BOEMRE and
NOAA will cooperate and coordinate by:
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Defining specific
processes to ensure effective and timely communication of agency
priorities and upcoming activities;
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Identifying and
undertaking critical environmental studies and analyses;
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Collaborating on
scientific, environmental and technical issues related to the
development and deployment of environmentally sound and
sustainable offshore renewable energy technologies; and
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Increasing
coordination and collaboration on decisions related to OCS
activities, including with respect to research and scientific
priorities.
Other key elements of the MOU include
meeting regularly to develop potential ways to appropriately align
regulatory and decision-making processes and identify the best
available science to support future regulatory decisions; increased
collaboration on oil spill exercises and response issues; and
annually evaluating activities and progress related to National
Ocean Policy objectives.
BOEMRE and NOAA have a history of
nearly 40 years of successful scientific collaboration. These
collaborative efforts encompass all OCS planning areas, from the
highly successful Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment
Program in Alaska to ongoing joint funding of the environmental
monitoring at the Flower Gardens National Marine Sanctuary in the
Gulf of Mexico. These and other collaborations cover all technical
disciplines from marine mammals and physical oceanography to the
joint development of environmental documents in compliance with the
National Environmental Policy Act.
BOEMRE and NOAA have had many
significant and successful partnerships, including those conducted
under the National Oceanographic Partnership Program. This has
enabled both agencies to leverage their research capabilities to
significantly increase the body of knowledge about our nation’s
marine environment.
The MOU is available for viewing at:
http://www.boemre.gov/ooc/pdfs/MOU_BOEMRE_NOAA_May2011.pdf
--BOEMRE / NOAA--
Contact: BOEMRE
Public Affairs