floor. (In deeper water, a curved pipe support called a "stringer" trails 

 behind the lay-barge). In water depths less than 200 feet, USGS requires 

 that in the Gulf the pipeline be buried. This is accomplished by jets of 

 water forcing sediments away from the pipe, allowing the pipe to settle in 

 the resulting trench. The disturbed sediments, after they settle, partly 

 cover the pipe, but complete burial requires additional time (usually more 

 than a year in deep waters). Complete burial may be achieved in certain 

 bottom materials by making several passes with the jetting equipment. 



To prevent corrosion, pipelines are coated with materials such as 

 epoxy compounds or thick, asphalt-like mastic. If extra weight is needed to 

 keep the line in place or mechanical protection is needed, the pipe is also 

 covered with a layer of dense concrete. As the pipeline comes ashore, it is 

 buried deeply enough to avoid its being exposed by storm-associated beach 

 erosion. Onshore pipelines are buried in trenches (either on upland or 

 marsh). 



Planning functions of immediate concern here are those which will in- 

 fluence environmental quality (biological, social, economic, physical). Even 

 within this restricted scope of concern, these functions encompass a broad 

 range of governmental, industrial, and public activities. 



Planning for OCS oil development has in general proceeded further, or 

 at least more visibly, in the Mid Atlantic region than in the South Atlantic. 

 As a consequence, most of the observations which are made here are based upon 

 Mid Atlantic production planning. However, due to uniformity in national 

 statutory requirements and relative homogeneity of social concerns about OCS 

 development in both Mid and South Atlantic coastal states, the issues ob- 

 served in the Mid Atlantic may well be representative of issues likely to 



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