spoil; (4) avoiding wetlands; (5) reducing problems of runoff discharge 

 through proper watershed management and (6) provision of buffer strips. 



Facilities handling petroleum will cause concern for: (1) 

 avoidance of oil spills; (2) avoidance of discharge of pollutants and 

 (3) minimizing subsurface water withdrawal. Also the large acreages of 

 shorelands require that special care be given to reducing effects on 

 terrestrial wildlife, endangered species habitats, and the aquatic 

 ecosystem. Elevations below the 100-year flood level are undesirable for 

 OCS facilities in coastal or floodplain areas. 



Construction : During site preparation there can be a number of 

 serious effects, direct and indirect. Solutions can be found through 

 (1) minimizing the alteration of water systems; (2) preventing the 

 erosion of soil; and (3) eliminating the discharge of toxic or deleterious 

 substances. Excavation and filling of areas near wetlands must be done 

 in such a manner that sediments do not enter the wetlands ecosystems. 

 Revegetation of disturbed areas must be accomplished as soon as possible 

 to reduce erosion. 



Operation : The major environmental problem of OCS projects in 

 operation generally will be in meeting pollutant discharge standards on 

 waste disposal and runoff water. Solutions are through proper application 

 of Federal and state pollution controls. Frequent maintenance dredging 

 of an access channel may cause serious problems, particularly in the 

 availability of suitable disposal sites for spoil. Therefore, location 

 and design standards are important. Spill containment precautions 

 should be developed. 



Sponsor Strategy : Normally, the sponsor's environmental concerns 

 are related to the governmental regulatory controls that must be met and 

 to public reaction to environmental and other impacts. Extensive 

 administrative and litigative delays can result if either environmental 

 assessment studies are weak or if the mitigation plan is inadequate. 



Normally, location problems of the facility are by far the most 

 important ones affecting fish and wildlife resources, and the one that 

 the sponsor will give the most effort to solving. Next in order will be 

 designing the facility to avoid shoreline disturbances, particularly of 

 wetlands. Third and fourth in priority will be requirements for construction 

 and operation. However, depending upon the locale and other specifics, 

 the priority of the above may change dramatically. In any event, concern 

 for the fish and wildlife resource is only one constraint in the whole 

 development sphere and often there are strong pressures to subjugate 

 such concern to economic and social factors or to other environmental 

 aspects (e.g., air quality, scenic impacts). 



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