Just what effects caused by oil and gas development can coastal re- 

 gions in the Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic anticipate? Since the exact 

 extent of recoverable oil and gas is unknown, communities must look ahead 

 to economic, social, and environmental impacts that may never come (if no 

 oil is found) or to sudden surges of development (if a large oil or gas 

 field is discovered) (5). 



In spite of the lack of specific information upon which to judge future 

 development effects, it has been possible to make some preliminary assess- 

 ments predicated on assumed production rates and facility locations (i.e. 

 pipeline routes, operations bases, gas processing facilities, etc.) at 

 the county level of detail. With respect to the Mid Atlantic, studies 

 indicate that impacts on the region as a whole should be minor but major 

 impacts could be felt by several primary impact counties. Regional popu- 

 lation increases have been estimated to be as few as 20,000 and as high 

 as 60,000 for peak production rates (.75 to 1.0 million barrels/day). 



At the county level, the estimates have attributed as much as 20% 

 of the growth in population to 0CS activity, in those counties that are 

 the site for new facility locations, (Atlantic County, N.J., for example). 



Development variations will depend on the size of the offshore lease 

 area, location in relation to offshore leases, extent of existing facilities, 

 proximity of markets, and rate and type of development. As stated earlier, 

 Mid Atlantic oil may replace some or all foreign crude oil imports and will 

 be refined, and generally used, in the Mid Atlantic region. The same is 

 likely to be true for the South Atlantic. The availability of pipeline 

 networks, ports, industrial centers, and a large labor pool within a very 

 large population, will tend to mitigate somewhat against massive socio economic 



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