A GIS Approach to Mapping Onshore Support Infrastructure for Deepwater Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Operations Author: Keith A. Long One East Fraternity Circle Phone: (225)388-4538
The National Environmental Policies Act (NEPA) requires federal agencies to examine the environmental implications of their actions. This responsibility extends to the Minerals Management Service (MMS), a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Interior, which is responsible for managing the mineral resources of the outer continental shelf in an environmentally sound and safe manner and to timely collect, verify, and distribute mineral revenues from federal and Indian lands. A large portion of work involved in preparing offshore tracts for lease sale is the preparation of environmental impact statements (EISs), which are required under NEPA. Allocating offshore activity to onshore economic areas, however, has been problematic for the MMS since there has been little prior work documenting specific relationships between offshore tracts and onshore areas. As offshore activities become more contentious, particularly in frontier areas like the eastern Gulf of Mexico, understanding the specific nature of economic activities and articulating these impacts to the public become increasingly more important. |