The Regulation of Seismic Exploration in the United States

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in response to a request under the Marine Mammal
Protection Act from BlueCrest Alaska Operating LLC, proposes to authorize the incidental taking by harassment of small numbers of northern sea otters from the Southcentral stock in Cook Inlet, Alaska, from date of issuance—October
31, 2016.

BlueCrest has requested this authorization for their planned oil and gas exploration activities. FWS anticipates no take by injury or death and includes none in this proposed authorization, which would be for take by harassment only.

FWS will consider any comments it receives on or before June 13, 2016.

Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service proposes to issue Fairweather, LLC, an Incidental Harassment Authorization to take marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to an anchor retrieval program in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, Alaska.

Fairweather proposes to retrieve anchor equipment left by Shell Offshore, Inc., during its 2012 and 2015 exploration drilling programs in the U.S. Chukchi and Beaufort seas. The proposed activity would occur between July 1 and October 31, 2016. Noise generated from anchor handling activities and the vessel’s dynamic positioning thrusters could impact marine mammals in the vicinity of the activities.

The American Petroleum Institute has distributed the following press notice:

“Subject…Final underwater acoustics webinar for the
international regulatory community: opportunity to ask additional
questions

Regulators, decision makers, public affairs officers, industry representatives, and other members of the international regulatory community have a high need for training materials on underwater acoustics as well as instructional resources that can be quickly accessed and viewed. To meet this need, the Discovery of Sound in the Sea (DOSITS) Team has been facilitating a free, five-part webinar series for the international regulatory community on topics related to underwater sound.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in response to a request under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 from BlueCrest Alaska Operating LLC, proposes to
authorize the incidental taking by harassment of small numbers of northern sea otters from the Southcentral stock in Cook Inlet, Alaska, from date of issuance—October 31, 2016.

BlueCrest has requested this authorization for their planned oil and gas exploration activities. FWS anticipates no take by injury or death and includes none in this proposed authorization, which would be for take by harassment only.

FWS will consider comments it receives on or before June 13, 2016.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center recently put five powerful recording instruments along the Northeast continental shelf break to listen to the sounds made by whales, dolphins and other marine species and to monitor ocean noise in general. It’s part of a national effort to establish a network to monitor long-term changes in just how noisy the ocean is.

By establishing a long-term NOAA-operated network of noise reference stations throughout the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone, roughly up to 200 miles offshore, NOAA can monitor long-term changes and trends in the underwater ambient sound field from all sources, including human activity and animals that live in these waters.

U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement Director Brian Salerno and U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Paul Thomas participated in a luncheon panel discussion today at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston. The discussion focused on topics relevant to joint inspections of offshore facilities and other offshore regulatory issues. Center for Offshore Safety Executive Director Charlie Williams hosted and moderated the session on the final day of OTC.

The NAS Committee has a website that explains, “BOEM has entered into a contract with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to establish a committee on environmental science and assessment for offshore energy resources. The 14-person committee will provide independent, scientifically credible and objective information on issues relevant to BOEM’s environmental studies and assessment activities and to support discussions on relevant issues.”

The power point presentations for the first meeting are posted here.

The power points for the second meeting have not yet been posted, but will be. The second meeting included BOEM presentations on regulating oil and has seismic in the Gulf of Mexico.

National Academy of Sciences staff have informed us that this Committee hopes to publish its report in July, 2016. The Committee’s website explains,