Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. Renewable Energy Research. Presented to:

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1 Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement Renewable Energy Research Presented to: 2011 NortekUSA Technical Symposium March 17, 2011 Jennifer Ewald, Physical Oceanographer Environmental Studies Program

2 WHO IS BOEMRE? The Department of the Interior s (DOI), Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE), is the federal agency responsible for overseeing the safe and environmentally responsible development of energy and mineral resources on the Outer Continental Shelf.

3 The U.S. OCS consists of the submerged lands, subsoil, and seabed, lying between the seaward extent of the States jurisdiction and the seaward extent of the Federal jurisdiction.

4 Science is the core of the decisions we make at BOEMRE and we are proud of the science this bureau does. Michael R. Bromwich, Director BOEMRE must comply with numerous environmental statues, regulations, and executive orders to carry out its mission and is dedicated to acquiring and using the highest quality scientific information in support of Bureau decisions.

5 Using Science as our Guide Environmental Studies Technology Assessment & Research Pollutant Transport (air & water) Biological Resource Characterization (habitat & behavior) Marine Environmental Monitoring Fates and Effects Socioeconomic Effects Invasive Species Leasing Exploration Construction Production Decommissioning Reduce Emissions Blowout Prevention Structural Removal Corrosion Prevention Oil Spill Response Leak Detection Marine Risers Composite Materials

6 Environmental Studies Program Mission To provide the information needed to predict, assess, and manage impacts from offshore energy and marine mineral exploration, development, and production activities on human, marine, and coastal environments.

7 What Drives the Studies Agenda: Information Needs National Partnership: NOPP, OST-IPC (formerly JSOST) Five-year schedule Pacific Developed/ producing leases Renewable energy Atlantic Sand and gravel Renewable energy Alaska Beaufort, Chukchi Sea exploration Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Active leasing Sand and gravel

8 ESP: A 30+ Year History of Applied Environmental Studies North Atlantic Physical Oceanography SoCal Baseline Long term Monitoring and Archiving Examples of two early studies Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History is archiving all Invertebrate samples collected by BOEM since 1979, Google Earth displays all station data.

9 What Drives the Studies Agenda: Multiple Uses of the OCS

10 What Drives the Studies Agenda: NEPA and Permitting Federal Water Pollution Control Act Marine Mammal Protection Act National Historic Preservation Act E.O : Environmental Justice NEPA Permits Clean Air Act Coastal Zone Management Act Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Endangered Species Act

11 Adaptive & Ecosystem-based Management Approaches Research Analysis Regulation Monitoring

12 Air Quality Water Quality Marine Mammals Sea Turtles Marine and Coastal Birds Bats Seafloor Habitats Environmental and Socioeconomic Resources and Issues Physical Oceanography Coastal Habitats Socioeconomics Cultural Resources Fisheries Multiple Use Conflicts

13 Impact Producing Factors Visual and aesthetic interference Vessel traffic Air emissions Bottom disturbance Infrastructure (emplacement and presence) Discharges Noise Lighting Electromagnetic Fields

14 How Do We Work? Competitive Contracts Inter-Agency Agreements Partnering NOAA; ONR; NASA; NSF; USGS; FWS; NPS; DOE; etc. Coastal Marine Institutes Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units Cooperative Agreements with Universities

15 ESP Expenditures by Activity 2010 Studies Investment ~36.3 Million Percentages of Total Allocation by Activity Oil & Gas ~$21.5 M 13% 1% Renewable ~$ 9.7 M Hybrid ~$ 4.9 M Sand & Gravel ~$ 525 K 26% 60% Oil & Gas Renew able Hybrid Marine Minerals

16 Authority from Energy Policy Act of 2005 BOEMRE has exclusive jurisdiction to issue leases and grant rights-of-way for hydrokinetic projects on the OCS FERC will issue licenses for the construction and operation for hydrokinetic projects on the OCS.

17 DOI/FERC MOU Signed by Secretary Salazar & Chairman Wellinghoff on April 9, 2009 Clarified jurisdictional authority regarding offshore hydrokinetic energy projects on the OCS. Establish a cohesive, streamlined process to accelerating development of offshore renewable energy projects.

18 BOEMRE - FERC Collaboration BOEMRE/FERC Guidance on Regulation of Hydrokinetic Projects on the OCS. Emphasis on early and active involvement of both agencies when wave or current energy projects are proposed for OCS lands, including coordination with state and local stakeholders. Federal Register Final Rule:

19 DOI/DOE MOU Signed on June 29, 2010 to coordinate deployment of offshore renewable energy technologies Action plan has been drafted, initiatives have begun implementation 4.7 M in Renewable Energy studies awarded under NOPP (BOEMRE/DOE/NOAA) Working in partnership support the needs of both agencies

20 Studies in Support of Renewable Energy Development

21 Completed Studies Worldwide Synthesis and Analysis of Existing Information Regarding Environmental Effects of Alternative Energy Uses on the OCS and Workshop (2008) Determining Night Time Distribution of Long-tailed Ducks Using Radio Telemetry (2008) Comparative Study of OWTG Standards (Joint Industry/Federal Study on Standards) (2008) Update Summary of Knowledge: Selected Areas of the Pacific Coast (2010)

22 NOPP BAA (BOEM/DOE/NOAA) Characterization & Potential Impacts of Noise Producing Construction & Operation Activities on the Outer Continental Shelf II - Cornell Lab of Ornithology Protocols for Baseline Studies and Monitoring for Ocean Renewable Energy Pacific Energy Ventures Roadmap: Technologies for Cost Effective, Spatial Resource Assessments for Offshore Renewable Energy U of Mass, Marine Renewable Energy Center Evaluating Acoustic Technologies to Monitor Aquatic Organisms at Renewable Sites U of Washington Sub-Seabed Geologic Carbon Dioxide Sequestration Best Management Practices U of Texas at Austin Renewable Energy Visual Evaluations U of Arkansas Ocean Renewable Energy Siting in the Context of Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning U of Rhode Island

23 Pacific Studies Marine Mammal and Seabird Surveys of Potential Renewable Energy Sites Offshore Northern California, Oregon and Washington ( ) USGS Survey of Benthic Communities near Potential Renewable Energy Sites Offshore Oregon and Washington ( ) OSU

24 Pacific & Atlantic OCS Renewable Energy and Space-Use Conflicts and Related Mitigation Identify opportunities for communication and cooperation Information Gap identified as an important issue: Worldwide Synthesis and Analysis Regional Associations (e.g. NROC, WCGA) Objective: Identify space uses, potential conflicts, and avoidance and/or mitigation strategies/techniques Project awarded to Industrial Economics Incorporated (IEC) in September 2009.

25 Atlantic Literature and Knowledge Synthesis North and Central Atlantic Information Resources: Data Search and Literature Synthesis (2010) South Atlantic Information Resources: Data Search and Literature Synthesis (2011)

26 Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (AMAPPS) Goal is to collect broad-scale information over multiple years on the seasonal distribution and abundance of marine mammals, marine turtles, and sea birds Joined other federal agencies in a multi-year survey of marine life along the U. S. Atlantic coast Support marine spatial planning and ecosystem-based management decisions 30 turtles tagged in Atlantic in

27 Atlantic Eco-Spatial Information Database (ESID) Compile and geo-reference ecological information resources in a searchable geospatial database Develop a support tool for activities permitted by BOEMRE such as environmental review of leasing activities Export data from the database Spatial data such as GIS layers Non spatial (scientific papers, reports) Example Data Categories Include: Benthic Ecology Geology Underwater noise Air Quality Etcetera

28 Eco-Spatial Information Database (ESID)

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30 Ongoing Studies - Avian Potential for Interactions between Endangered and Candidate Bird Species with Wind Facility Operations on the Atlantic OCS (2011) Determining Distributions and Movements of Long-tailed Ducks Using Satellite Telemetry (2011) Automated Analysis of Bird Vocalization Recordings (2011) Surveying for Marine Birds in the Northwest Atlantic (2014) Pilot Study: Aerial High-Definition Imagery Surveys for Seabirds, Marine Mammals, and Sea Turtles on the Atlantic Acoustic/Thermal Monitoring of Temporal and Spatial Abundance of Birds Near Structures -- Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Compendium of Avian Information and Comprehensive GIS Geodatabase (2011)

31 Ongoing Studies - Biology Atlantic Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Data Search and Literature Synthesis Including Stranding and Nesting Sites (2010) Effects of Pile Driving Sounds on Auditory and Nonauditory Tissues of Fish (2011) Workshop on the Status of Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) (2010) Effects Of EMF From Transmission Lines On Elasmobranchs And Other Marine Species (2010) Hearing in Sea Otters (Enhydra lutris): Measurement of Auditory Detection Thresholds for Tonal and Industry Sounds (2010)

32 E.S.P.I.S. Environmental Studies Program Information System Completed ESP reports and technical summaries available online Full electronic and searchable pdf files, including images and graphics Ocean Science and Technological Information Related to Offshore Energy

33 Technology Assessment and Research (TA&R) O/G Operational Safety and Engineering Research (OSER) Renewable Energy Research (REnR) Oil Spill Response Research (OSRR) including the Ohmsett Oil Spill Response and Renewable Energy Tank

34 Testing MHK Devices at Ohmsett 667 feet long 65 feet wide 8 feet deep 2.6 million gallons of water Tow bridge speeds 6.5 knots max.

35 National Renewable Energy Laboratory - Partnership NREL is teaming with BOEMRE and Ohmsett to gain experience with the tank testing of Marine hydrokinetic devices Jointly developing MHK device tank testing protocols

36 Resolute Marine Energy MHK Device Test at Ohmsett

37 Able Technology MHK Device Test at Ohmsett

38 Response options for removal of spilled dielectric fluids in the marine environment (dyed red for testing visibility) dispersant test series MIDEL 7131 various skimmers

39 More Information On the Web at:

40 Partnership with DOE The environmental effects of MHK devices will depend on the type of technology that is developed DOE Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Program role in MHK Systems development Resource assessments Environmental Impacts and Siting Environmental Webinar Series

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53 Thank you! /esp/renewableenergyresearch.htm