The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) has announced it is taking steps to assess both the conventional and renewable energy resource potential in the Mid- and South Atlantic.
The draft programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS), which has been released for public comment, will help inform future decisions about energy leasing in these areas. The draft PEIS assesses proposed geological and geophysical (G&G) activities, including seismic and other offshore surveys, in the Mid- and South-Atlantic planning areas.
‘As we move forward with the safe exploration and production of our domestic energy supply, this environmental analysis will help provide the critical information we need to make smart decisions in the Mid- and South Atlantic,’ DOI Secretary Ken Salazar says.
Salazar and U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director Tommy P. Beaudreau recently traveled to Norfolk, Va., where they met with personnel from Fugro Atlantic, which provides geotechnical, hydrogeologic, environmental and marine survey services.
"Both government and industry rely on G&G surveys, using state-of-the-art technology, for information about the location and extent of our offshore resources," Beaudreau says. "This analysis will move us forward toward developing an updated body of scientific information about the Mid- and South Atlantic regions that will support future decisions about potential conventional and renewable resource development."
The PEIS evaluates the potential environmental effects of multiple G&G activities in these OCS planning areas and, where needed, outlines mitigation and monitoring measures that will reduce or eliminate potential impacts.
