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38 OCEANOGRAPHY IN THE NEXT DECADE 



sities and specifically focused on present and future problems in 

 the marine environment; 



• agreements between EPA research laboratories and nearby 

 academic or private institutions; 



• training of EPA personnel in newly emerging science that 

 enhances the science perspective in order to balance the strong 

 regulatory perspective that exists within the agency; and 



• increased reliance on academic experts in areas in which 

 they may be better positioned than commercial consultants (e.g., 

 analysis of long-term and large-scale environmental problems). 



Problems with the agency's approach to academic grants and 

 centers have discouraged many university-based experts from working 

 with EPA. In addition, the program and regional offices and the 

 Office of Research and Development laboratories often rely on 

 contractual mechanisms that prevent EPA from obtaining the best 

 outside scientists to work on agency issues. EPA should move 

 quickly to bolster its grants and centers programs. The agency 

 should also implement a long-term plan to replace contractual 

 mechanisms that may be detrimental to obtaining the best pos- 

 sible scientific information. 



Minerals Management Service 



In 1973, in response to the threat of an international oil em- 

 bargo. President Nixon announced an ambitious program for ac- 

 celerated exploration and development of the oil and gas resources 

 of the outer continental shelf (OCS) of most of the United States. 

 Although it had managed offshore development in the northwest- 

 ern Gulf of Mexico for many years, the Bureau of Land Manage- 

 ment (BLM) was suddenly required to evaluate the environmental 

 consequences of greatly expanded exploration and development. 

 Since that time, through the BLM (now MMS) Environmental Studies 

 Program, the Department of the Interior has spent more than $259 

 million for studies of the climate, circulation, contaminant lev- 

 els, ecology, living resources, geohazards, and effects of oil and 

 gas development in all OCS areas, particularly those with no pre- 

 vious development. 



Although many academic ocean scientists have been involved 

 in MMS studies, the agency has traditionally relied on commer- 

 cial procurement contracting to acquire technical information. Some 

 consequences of this approach are that relatively little of the in- 

 formation produced was published in the open scientific litera- 



