Energy 



In December 1973, a comprehensive report on the research and 

 development needed to meet the Nation's energy requirements was 

 submitted to the President by the Chairman of the Atomic Energy 

 Commission (AEC). This report, requested by the President in his 

 Energy Message of June 1973, recommends a $10-billion, 5-year 

 research and development program to regain and maintain energy 

 self-sufficiency. The recommended program includes support for 

 supplementary programs such as those designed to assess and 

 reduce the environmental impact of outer continental shelf (OCS) oil 

 and gas extraction operations and the operation of nuclear 

 powerplants. These supplemental programs are important in 

 preventing possible damage to the marine environment resulting 

 from energy operations. 



A complementary report, OCS Oil and Gas— An Environmental 

 Assessment, was prepared by the Council on Environmental Quality 

 (CEQ) in response to another request by the President. Released in 

 April 1974, the CEQ study report analyzes the potential impact of oil 

 and gas development at a number of promising OCS sites along the 

 Atlantic coast and in the Gulf of Alaska. In the performance of the 

 study the CEQ took into consideration improvements in drilling and 

 extraction technology to minimize hazards to the environment and 

 the recent strengthening of regulations governing OCS operations. 



The report assesses the relative environmental vulnerabilities of 

 the areas studied and recommends measures for their protection and 

 development. It contains proposals to improve technology for use on 

 the OCS, to further tighten the regulation and enforcement of OCS 

 operations, and to untangle the web of Federal and State 

 institutional interests. 



In accordance with the President's April 18, 1973, Energy 

 Message, the Department of the Interior issued a tentative five-year 

 OCS leasing schedule for 1974 through 1978. The schedule called for 

 three lease sales annually, leasing one million acres per sale. In 

 January 1974, President Nixon directed the Secretary of the Interior 

 to lease ten million acres in calendar year 1975 or more than triple 

 what had originally been planned.* 



Since OCS leasing began in 1954, total bonuses of nearly $13.4 

 billion have been paid to the U.S. Treasury through May 1974. Of 

 this total, $3.5 billion were received for two lease sales in 1974 and 

 nearly $9.7 billion were received since September 1972 through May 



* Note: President Ford repeated this direction in his speech of October 8, 1974, 

 and the Department of Interior subsequently has released a proposed 4-year planning 

 lease schedule. 



