National Academies Committee on Environmental Science and Assessment for Ocean Energy Management

National Academies Committee on Environmental Science and Assessment for Ocean Energy Management

BOEM has entered into a contract with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to establish a committee on environmental science and assessment for offshore energy resources. The 14-person committee will provide independent, scientifically credible and objective information on issues relevant to BOEM’s environmental studies and assessment activities and to support discussions on relevant issues.

The committee will provide services under a three-year contract between BOEM and the Academies, which issued a call for nominations on June 23, 2015, seeking a broad pool of applicants. Following a rigorous review, the Academies selected committee members during the summer. The first meeting took place on December 8-9, 2015, in Washington, D.C., with December 8 being an open session.

Committee members will provide their expertise and advice without compensation and are not required to be members of the Academies. The committee will meet several times a year, and may conduct workshops, studies or peer review documents relevant to BOEM’s environmental programs. The work will be purely advisory in nature, and will be limited to relevant independent and objective advice. It will not include recommendations on what policy or management decisions should be made. Review of the Environmental Studies Program is a role previously performed for BOEM under the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

• Committee Members
• Biographic Sketches
• Committee Meetings:
  • December 8, 2015
  • April 14-15, 2016
  • July 11-12, 2016

BOEM’s Environmental Studies Program, which was authorized by the OCS Land Act as amended (Section 20), develops, funds, and manages rigorous scientific research to inform policy decisions regarding the development of energy and mineral resources on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. The science contributes to the development of environmental reviews and development of measures to protect sensitive resources from the potential impacts of ocean energy or non-energy mineral development. Read more about BOEM’s Environmental Studies Program and Environmental Assessment activities.

For more information, visit the Academies’ Division on Earth and Life Studies, Ocean Studies Board.