e Commitment by the Secretary to the preparation 
of environmental statements on development plans 
in frontier areas. 
e Establishment by the Bureau of Land Manage- 
ment of the Intergovernmental Planning Program 
for Leasing and Transportation of OCS Oil and 
Gas. This program, in addition to formalizing 
existing pre-leasing coordination, sets up a Federal- 
State-industry partnership for planning for trans- 
portation of oil and gas from the OCS to shore. 
e Endorsement by the Secretary of proposed amend- 
ments to the OCS Lands Act, designed to increase 
State and public participation in the leasing deci- 
sionmaking process, to alter the bidding system, 
and otherwise improve the management of the 
program. Administrative procedures to implement 
many of the proposed changes have already been 
put into effect. 
Following the decision to accelerate leasing numer- 
ous bills that would amend the OCS Lands Act were 
introduced in the 94th Congress. None were enacted. 
Largely because of strong State objections and 
DOI’s efforts to provide more meaningful public and 
State involvement, the OCS leasing timetable has 
been slowed down since 1975. In May 1977, Interior 
announced a revised leasing schedule for sales through 
1978. The 1977-78 leasing plan included sales in 
the less sensitive areas and did not include areas in 
Alaska, California, and the South Atlantic. In late 
summer 1977, Interior published its new 5-year leas- 
ing schedule. 
Several factors in the past have contributed to 
the conflicts surrounding the OCS program. Among 
the most significant are: 
e The Santa Barbara oil spill, 
© Growing knowledge of the importance of OCS 
oil to offset our dependence on foreign supplies, 
e President Nixon’s accelerated leasing decision and 
Interior's attempts to implement it, 
e Increasing public concern over the impacts of 
expanded OCS production, 
e Increasing State and local government concern 
over their past lack of participation in leasing 
decisions, 
e Growing awareness of the potential for oil in the 
frontier areas, and 
@ Increasing use of OCS oil as a short-term solu- 
tion to the Nation’s energy problem. 
OCS Environmental Studies 
Since the OCS studies program began, the Bureau 
of Land Management (BLM) has contracted for over 
$125 million in baseline and special marine studies. 
In 1974, BLM and NOAA entered into an arrange- 
ment for BLM funding of work performed by NOAA 
for the Alaska OCS Environmental Assessment Pro- 
gram. 
The Bureau’s OCS studies program has been 
controversial almost since its beginning. One criti- 
cism has been that the information from the studies 
has not been effectively tied to leasing decisions. 
Critics charge that the purpose of the studies has 
not been defined fully, and that there has been no 
program development plan for the complete program 
and no overall policy statement. According to the 
Office of Technology Assessment, the nature of the 
relationship between the studies and the leasing 
decision process is the primary issue. These and 
other concerns have been voiced by both the OCS 
Advisory Board and the OCS Environmental Studies 
Advisory Committee. 
In the past 2 years, dissatisfaction with the pro- 
gram has increased, even within the Department of 
the Interior itself.*® During the June 1977 meeting 
of the OCS Advisory Board, Guy Martin, Assistant 
Secretary for Land and Water Resources, stated that 
there was a need to reexamine the OCS environmental 
studies program to determine if the proper type of 
information existed for the different decision points in 
the leasing program. He further suggested that the 
Advisory Board determine the policy for the OCS 
Environmental Studies Advisory Committee to 
implement.*° 
Recent indications from the Assistant Secretary’s 
office reflect the view that the baseline program has 
been misdirected and that the information collected 
has not been as useful as it could be to the leasing 
decision-maker. The suggestion is that specially 
designed mission-oriented studies would be of more 
value. 
At the request of BLM, the National Academy of 
Sciences made a detailed assessment of the overall 
OCS environmental studies program. The conclu- 
sion was that the program had not been based on 
research appropriate to answer environmental con- 
cerns for offshore oil and gas leasing and that the 
program ‘does not now effectively contribute to 
leasing decisions or to the accrual of sound scientific 
information adequate for OCS management, both 
offshore and onshore.” “1 Recommendations were 
made concerning program design, implementation, 
and utility. It should be noted that there are those 
in the scientific community who feel that the import- 
ance of long-term baseline measurements of living 
resources should not be minimized and that these, 
coupled with process-oriented studies, should provide 
the principal thrust of the BLM-—OCS studies. 
The following activities have been undertaken 
recently by the Interior Department in an attempt to 
alleviate some past public concerns: 
™U.S. Department of the Interior. Record, Meeting of the 
OCS Environmental Studies Advisory Committee. July 19, 1977. 
© Ibid. 
‘\ National Academy of Sciences—National Research Council. 
OCS Oil and Gas: An Assessment of the Department of the In- 
terior Environmental Studies Program. A report to the Depart- 
ment of the Inierior, 1977, p. 107. 
VI-22 
