The Regulation of Seismic Exploration in the United States

Environmental group are suing BOEM in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on various grounds relating to BOEM’s oil and gas leasing in the Gulf of Mexico. The Government has moved for summary judgment in the case.  The Government’s motion argues that

 “In holding Lease Sale 216/222, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) complied with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). BOEM engaged in multiple environmental reviews, analyzed extensive scientific information from a multitude of sources, and cogently summarized relevant information, as well as information gaps, for the decision maker and public in advance of the decision to hold the sale.”

Environmental group are suing BOEM in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on various grounds relating to BOEM’s oil and gas leasing in the Gulf of Mexico.  The Government filed a motion to transfer the case to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama.  The Government argued that this transfer would “promote the interests of justice.”  The DC Court denied the motion.

Click here to read court’s order.

CRE provides a number of forums for people interested in marine sound to express their views and provide relevant scientific material

Discussion Forum for Marine Sound

Marine Mammal Discussion Forum

A Repository of Scientific Studies

Please feel free to express your views and provide new scientific studies for review. We have the technology which allows you to upload documents in a post; if you have any questions call 202.265.2383. ext 308

CRE’s long standing policy is make all our posts available for public comment. We received a number of informed comments on our request for the Business Insider to retract its statement on seismic operations.

 One of our readers  wrote:

 Repeating the highly emotive and sensational misinformation and lies being promulgated by environmental organizations like Oceana (which must be the source for the misinformation and lies included in the animation in the Business Insider article given the use of the “100,000 times” claim) is very lazy and misleading journalism. There are many facts that clearly demonstrate that lies and misinformation are being “fed” to an unsuspecting public, presumably in the push for circulation in the case of the media and, it the case of the environmental organizations like Oceana, the funding dollars!

 Background

  —   In the preceding post CRE identified a misstatement in the Business Insider regarding their reporting on seismic operations.

  —   The response to making the post was overwhelming, nearly a record number of visits to the Interactive Public Docket  notwithstanding the fact that the post was made  late on Friday and at the end of August.

 Reporting A Misstatement

 —    CRE recommends that its many readers notify CRE regarding misstatements made by the press regarding seismic operations.

 —   The notifications can be made using any one of three mechanisms on this Interactive Public Docket:

 Business Insider recently posted an article entitled “Here’s How The Seismic Airgun Testing For Oil Reserves Along The Atlantic Coast May Deafen Thousands Of Whales

This article is factually incorrect. Seismic airguns do not deafen thousands of whales.  They do not deafen any whales. In fact, seismic airguns do not injure whales or any other marine mammals—in the Atlantic or any other body of water.

See the complete CRE analysis in the attachment below.

Please submit your views to the Managing Editor Editor, Jessica Liebman, at    jliebman@businessinsider.com 

Feel free to submit a  copy of  your comments on the reply section below.

TGS plans to conduct a two-dimensional (2D) marine seismic survey in the Chukchi Sea during the 2013 open-water season using a 3,280 cubic inches (in3) towed airgun array.  TGS has submitted a marine mammal monitoring and mitigation plan to the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service and to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to supplement TGS’s Incidental Harassment Authorization and Letter of Authorization applications for the incidental taking of marine mammals in conjunction with this 2D seismic program.

TGS’ plan continues to use the historical acoustic criteria of 160 and 180 dB.  TSG’s plan also incorporates passive acoustic monitoring.

Click here to read TGS’s monitoring and mitigation plan.

NMFS has issued an Incidental Harassment Authorization to Shell Gulf of Mexico Inc., to take, by harassment, small numbers of 13 species of marine mammals incidental to a marine survey program in the Chukchi Sea, Alaska, during the 2013 Arctic open-water season. This IHA is issued pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and it is effective July 1, 2013, through October 31, 2013. This IHA continues to use the historical acoustic criteria (e.g., 160 and 180 dB). The Federal Register notice of this IHA includes NMFS’ responses to largely negative comments by the Marine Mammal Commission and various environmental groups.