U.S. Department of the Interior Minerals Management Service Gulf of Mexico OCS Region

Contract for Environmental Assessment of G&G Exploration Awarded

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) has awarded a $172,199 contract for preparation of an environmental assessment to help determine if MMS-regulated geological and geophysical activities in the Gulf of Mexico OCS have significant environmental impact. MMS made the award to Continental Shelf Associates, Inc. Jupiter, Florida, on the recommendations of an agency-wide evaluation committee. The award was signed on June 3, 1999. Under the contract, the study, "Preparation of Programmatic Environmental Assessment (EA) on Geological and Geophysical (G&G) Exploration for Mineral Resources on the Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)," duration will be 13 months.

The study is intended to prepare an EA under the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). All aspects of G&G exploration will be reviewed with particular emphasis on seismic operations. The EA represents a preliminary step in the NEPA process. If the EA results indicate aspects of G&G exploration may represent significant impacts under NEPA guidelines, further action by MMS will be pursued.

MMS is the Federal Agency that manages the Nation’s oil and gas and other mineral resources on the OCS and collects, accounts for, and last year disbursed about $6 billion in revenues from Federal offshore mineral leases and from onshore mineral leases on Federal and Indian lands.

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