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DOCURENT RESIJIE
05950 - [B1566577]
Benefits Derived from the Outer Continental Shelf Environmental
Studies Program Are Questionable. CED-78--93; B-11b678. June 1,
1978. 23 pp. + appendix (2 pp.).
Report to Secretary, Department of Commerce; Secretary,
Departmeut of the Interior; by Henry Zschpege, Director,
Community and Economic Development Div.
Issue Area: Environmental Protection Programs: Institutional
Arrangements and Trade-offs (2210); Land Use Planning and
Control: anageaent of Federal Lands and tielated Reso. rces
(2306) ;Energy: Executive Bra1ich Organization and Processes
for Dealing with Energy Problems (1611).
Contact: Community and Economic Development Div.
Budget Function: Natural Resourcest Environment, and Energy-
Energy (305).
organization Concerned: Bureau of Land Hanagedent; National
Oceanic an4 Atmospheric Administration.
congressional Relevance: House Committee on Interior and Insular
Affairs; Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Authority: Oster Contin.ftal Shelf Lands Act of 1953 (43 U.S.C.
1331).
The Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) environmental studies
program was astablished in 1974 to provide information about the
OCS environment which would give Federal agencies a bsis for
m-king decisions on resource development# predicting the impacts
of OCS development, and sodifying leasing stipulations and
,egulations for OCS development. Findingo/Conclusions: The
program has been costly, exceeding S20C million since its
inception, and it may have little effect in minimizing
environmental damage during exploration, devw1cpmentp and
productinn in the OCS. The.-m is little agi~ement anong Federal
ard Stat agencies on how the studies can best be used in
decisionnaking and what information is needred to assess the
environmental impact of OCS development. Research on effects of
pollutants is widely dispersed among Federal agencies And ia not
coordinated witL overall marine research needs. State agencies
are concerned about the lack of data descriing coastal and
nearshore environments on which to base lease decisions.
Uncertainties ,bout information management are examplified in
the Alaska studies program, the larges, of the programs. The
Bureau of Land anagement (BL6) has not provided adequate
program guidance to the National Oceanic and Atmcspheric
Administration (NOsA) to develop the necessary informatiom, and
WCAA has not used its resources to develop envircnmental
infor mation effectively. Recommendations: The Secretary of the
Interior should: reassess the program for how the studies can
best ^9 used in the OCS development decisionmaking process and
what W.nformation is needed to assess the impact of development;
in cooperation with Federal and State agencies, develop](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.gao/gaobaaxgg0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)