As do other offshore oil and gas activities, the Deepwater Ports 

 Program involves many aspects of the Federal Ocean Program and 

 includes the cooperation and coordination of a number of con- 

 tributing agencies. A balance of economic and environmental 

 considerations is particularly important in site selection: the 

 proximity of onland processing facilities and markets, as well as 

 shoreline receiving stations, is as important as optimum water 

 depths, bottom stability, and weather conditions. During the early 

 1970's, the Council on Environmental Quality, COE, MARAD, the 

 USCG, and others undertook a variety of studies designed to 

 evaluate various alternatives to select potential sites for ports of 

 various designs, and to analyze the effects of heavy vessel traffic. 

 The results of these studies provide a broad base for current 

 planning and for the preparation of environmental assessments 

 under the direction of the USCG. 



The first of the planned deepwater ports will be "singlepoint 

 moorings", to which oil will be transferred through hoses from very 

 large crude-oil carriers (VLCC's] to the mooring and then pumped 

 through pipelines to shore. The greatest single potential source of oil 

 spillage in these operations is associated with connecting and 

 disconnecting the hoses to the tankers. MARAD is undertaking a 

 number of studies to improve handling of the hoses and to eliminate 

 associated spillage. The studies include the development of precise 

 and realistic techniques for calculating VLCC motions and for 

 moving hawser loads relative to sea-bottompositions and in various 

 wind, wave, and current conditions; assessment of methods for 

 attenuating waves in the vicinity of the ports; improvement of hoses 

 and connections; and the development of advanced types of service 

 craft to assist the VLCC's in picking up and handling mooring lines 

 and hoses. 



The licensing procedures, environmental assessment and protec- 

 tion, and navigation safety measures being developed by the USCG 

 for deepwater ports include numerous contributions from DOC, 

 DOI, Department of Defense [DOD), and other agencies. For 

 example, assessments of fair-market rental values are made by DOI; 

 NOAA, FWS, and USGS participate in the preparation and review of 

 environmental-impact statements to assure adequate consideration 

 of weather, oceanographic, and geological conditions and of 

 fisheries, wildlife, and mineral resources; construction permits are 

 issued by COE. EPA pollution standards and the provisions of the 

 National Contigency Plan, developed jointly by EPA, the USCG and 

 the Office of Pipeline Safety, apply to deepwater ports as well as to 

 other offshore operations. 



With support from the Council on Environmental Quality and 

 NOAA's Office of Sea Grant, The Center for Wetland Resources of 



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