Chapter VIII — OCS Development 



on 30 March 1990 to promulgate regulations pursuant 

 to section 101(a)(5) of the Marine Mammal Protection 

 Act. The letter of authorization issued to Chevron 

 U.S.A. Inc. was issued with no prior notice of the 

 request and with no opportunity for comment by the 

 Commission or the public. 



The Minerals Management Service's 

 Enyironmental Studies Program 



As noted above, the Minerals Management Service 

 is responsible for assessing and avoiding or mitigating 

 the possible adverse environmental effects of offshore 

 oil and gas exploration and development. To help 

 meet this responsibility, the Service has established an 

 Environmental Studies Program, administered region- 

 ally by its OCS offices in New Orleans, Louisiana; 

 Camarillo, California; Anchorage, Alaska; and 

 Hemdon, Virginia. The Service also has contracted 

 with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admini- 

 stration's Office of Oceanography and Marine Assess- 

 ment, National Ocean Service, to plan and administer 

 the Alaska Outer Continental Shelf Environmental 

 Assessment Program. 



To help the Service meet its responsibilities with 

 regard to the conservation and protection of marine 

 manmials, the Commission, in consultation with its 

 Committee of Scientific Advisors, reviews and pro- 

 vides comments on regional studies plans, environ- 

 mental impact statements, and requests for proposals 

 related to marine mammal research developed by the 

 Service; participates, as requested, in meetings of 

 Technical Proposal Evaluation Committees convened 

 by the Service to review research proposals; and helps 

 plan and participates in meetings and workshops to 

 review and coordinate relevant research programs 

 being conducted or planned by the Minerals Manage- 

 ment Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service, 

 the Fish and Wildlife Service, and other Federal, 

 state, and private agencies and organizations. 



In this regard, on 23 September 1991, the Marine 

 Mammal Commission provided comments on the draft 

 Alaska Regional Studies Plan for fiscal years 1993 

 and 1994. In its letter, the Commission noted that the 

 plan was well founded and well written, but could be 



ftirther strengthened in a number of areas. The draft 

 plan did not, for example, ftilly reflect the possibility 

 that oil and gas activities in the Bering Sea and Gulf 

 of Alaska could adversely affect the threatened Steller 

 sea lion population. 



As discussed in previous Annual Reports, in 

 January 1989, the Commission sponsored a Workshop 

 on Measures to Assess and Mitigate the Impacts of 

 Arctic Oil and Gas Exploration and Development on 

 Polar Bears" (see Appendix B, Lentfer 1991). The 

 workshop report recommended that a study be done to 

 evaluate the cost-effectiveness of possible systems for 

 detecting and deterring polar bears from approaching 

 field camps, drilling sites, etc., in the Arctic. The 

 draft Alaska studies plan included a study similar to 

 the one recommended by the workshop. However, 

 the nature and objectives of the study were not de- 

 scribed clearly. The Commission therefore recom- 

 mended that, if the Minerals Management Service had 

 not already done so, it consult polar bears experts in 

 the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Alaska Depart- 

 ment of Fish and Game to ensure there is general 

 agreement on what needs to be done and how it can 

 be done most cost-effectively. 



The draft plan proposed development of a contin- 

 gency plan to be better prepared to assess the fate and 

 effects of future oil spills. The Commission noted 

 that opportunistic studies, such as proposed, could 

 contribute much to resolving critical uncertainties 

 concerning the effects of, and the response of marine 

 mammals and other wildlife to, oil spills and related 

 containment and cleanup operations. It pointed out 

 that the Exxon Valdez oil spill provided many research 

 opportunities that were not recognized or utilized and 

 that the proposal would help avoid repetition of this 

 experience. 



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