Bureau of Ocean Energy Management March 7, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Consistent with the regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), BOEM has prepared a Final Programmatic EIS to describe and evaluate the potential environmental impacts associated with reasonably foreseeable G&G survey activities in Federal waters overlying the Mid- and South Atlantic OCS, as well as potentially interconnected or interrelated activities in adjacent State waters, as described in the Supplemental Information section below. These activities include, but are not limited to, seismic surveys (deep penetration and high-resolution geophysical), electromagnetic surveys, geological and geochemical sampling, and remote sensing surveys. The Final Programmatic EIS covers reasonably foreseeable G&G activities associated with the three program areas managed by BOEM on the OCS (i.e., oil and gas exploration and development, renewable energy, and marine minerals). The Final Programmatic EIS also evaluates mitigating measures to reduce potential impacts of G&G activities on marine resources, such as sound impacts to marine species and bottom-disturbance impacts on benthic communities and cultural resources.