6 



vision will be the subject of discussion by the Commerce Committee 

 and the National Ocean Policy Study in upcoming Senate hearings on 

 S. 586. 



2. NOPS INTEREST IX IMPROVING LEASING POLICIES FOR FEDERAL OFFSHORE 

 OIL AND GAS RESOURCES 



A. NOPS Offshore development/ coastal zone legislation 



Last year NOPS devoted most of its time and efforts to a study of 

 the environmental, social, and economic impacts of Outer Continental 

 Shelf oil and gas development, and published four reports, with rec- 

 ommendations, which addressed ways in which present Administra- 

 tion leasing polices can be improved without delaying development. 

 These recommendations formed the basis for S. 426, "The Outer Con- 

 tinental Shelf Lands Act Amendments of 1975," which was introduced 

 by Senator Hollings and 21 other Senators on January 27, 1975. The 

 major features of "this legislation are the separation of exploration 

 from development, the creation of a government-sponsored explora- 

 tion program prior to leasing, designation of NOAA as the lead 

 agency for environmental monitoring and Environmental Impact 

 Statements for specific lease tracts, the creation of a $200 million oil 

 spill liability fund, and State and Congressional approval of Interior's 

 leasing program. 



A complementary proposal, S. 586, has also been introduced by 

 Senator Hollings. Based also on the Study's hearings and report, this 

 bill amends the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to provide 

 greater assistance to coastal States in ameliorating onshore impacts of 

 OCS development. While this legislation includes other provisions 

 than OCS-related ones, its principal feature is the creation of a 

 Coastal Impact Fund of up to $200 million a year for use by coastal 

 states in planning and managing the impacts of OCS development. In 

 addition, it would be used to compensate state and local governments 

 for public services and facilities required to support the influx of new 

 working populations and economic dislocations resulting from energy' 

 related activity. 



The Senate Interior and Insular Affairs Committee, which has juris- 

 diction over OCS legislation, has invited the National Ocean Policy 

 Study to participate in hearings on S. 426, S. 586, S. 521 (the "Energy 

 Supply Act" which passed the Senate last year and which has been 

 reintroduced by Senator Jackson), and S. 740, a bill to create an En- 

 ergy Resource Production Board to explore and develop energy re- 

 sources on the OCS. These hearings, which will cover a whole realm 

 of issues not previously considered last year, were to be held March 

 14. 17, 18 and April 8 and 9. 



In addition, it is expected that separate Commerce Committee hear- 

 ings will be held on S. 586 and various other bills which propose to 

 amend the Coastal Zone Management Act so as to provide better pro- 

 tection and planning of coastal growth and development impacts. 



B. Examination of the impact of offshore oil and gas development on 



the coastal zone; case studies 

 NOPS has employed the case study approach in examining and un- 

 derstanding the impacts of oil and gas development on the coastal 



