Interagency Activities

Interagency Activities
► Minerals Management Service/Tri-County Forum

► Interagency Decommissioning Working Group

► High Energy Seismic Survey Review Process

MMS(Minerals Management Service)/Tri-County Forum

Planning Division staff participated in a series of MMS/Tri-County Forums that the Minerals Management Service (MMS) commenced during the 1990s to coordinate and improve inter-jurisdictional regulation of oil and gas development offshore California's central coast. The forums included staff from Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo counties, California Coastal Commission, California State Lands Commission, California Department of Fish & Game, California Department of Conservation, and the Minerals Management Service. The subsequent meetings focused on sharing of information among the key agencies involved in regulating offshore oil and gas development, providing opportunities for the staff of the various agencies to become more acquainted with one another, and providing opportunities to identify common issues, and work toward their resolution. Several results are attributable to the MMS/Tri-County Forum, including initiation of the following joint efforts:

  • Early conceptual endorsement of the oil industry's proposed Drilling Rig Cooperative Program for exploratory drilling in the future.

  • Development of the Pacific OCS Region Process for Protecting Hard Substrate Communities, to address methods of eliminating or reducing impacts to significant deep-water habitats as a result of exploratory drilling.

  • Development of the Pacific OCS Region Approved Exploration Plan Review Process, to address the interagency coordination on renewing outdated Exploration Plans.

  • Preparation of a report, titled the California Offshore Oil and Gas Energy Resources (COOGER), documenting the capacity and constraints of existing onshore infrastructure required to support offshore oil and gas development, and assessing the demand for new onshore infrastructure generated by potential development of existing but undeveloped offshore oil and gas leases in the future.

  • Formation of the Interagency Decommissioning Working Group to address issues of decommissioning offshore platforms and pipelines after these facilities have permanently ceased operations.

Drilling Rig Cooperative Program

The Forum met with offshore operators in the early 1990s to discuss a cooperative program for shared use of a single drilling rig to conduct exploratory drilling on undeveloped OCS leases. Shared use of a single rig was seen as a constructive measure to minimize environmental and socioeconomic impacts of offshore exploratory drilling. The measure was further considered in a Draft Environmental Impact Statement that the MMS prepared and circulated in 2000 to address potential impacts of exploratory drilling.

Process for Protecting Hard Substrate Communities

Deep-water, rocky habitats represent a significant biological resource of the Santa Barbara Channel and are important to the local commercial fishing and sports-fishing industries. The MMS and Tri-County representatives formed an adhoc committee to address impacts to these habitats from offshore oil and gas exploration. The committee developed a process, which focused on early examination of potential rocky hardbottom issues when offshore operators submit an Exploration Plan.

Approved Exploration Plan Review Process

Participating members formed a Working Group to address issues with outdated Exploration Plans for OCS leases. After several sessions, the Group developed a recommended process for renewing Exploration Plans for the Pacific OCS Region. The MMS subsequently refined the recommendation, and introduced a new process, which it dubbed the Approved Exploration Plan Review Process for renewing Exploration Plans in the Pacific OCS Region.

Interagency Decommissioning Working Group

The Interagency Decommissioning Working Group (IDWG)was formed in late 1997 to proactively address issues identified at a 1997 decommissioning workshop titled "Decommissioning and Removal of Oil and Gas Facilities Offshore California: Recent Experience and Future Deep Water Challenges."

The IDWG is composed of representatives from the Minerals Management Service, California State Lands Commission, California Coastal Commission, California Department of Fish and Game, National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Santa Barbara County, and Ventura County (see following membership list).
The goals of the IDWG Action Plan are to develop an effective process for:

(1) addressing decommissioning issues;
(2) collecting, sharing, and disseminating information with all interested parties;
(3) promoting dialogue and communication among all parties; and
(4) improving interagency planning and coordination in advance of future    decommissioning projects.

IDWG member agencies have been funding scientific research, collecting information, and sponsoring workshops, symposiums and other public forums to disseminate information in a timely manner and facilitate dialogue and discussion among all interested parties.

The IDWG has prepared an Action Plan that lists and prioritizes the issues identified during the 1997 decommissioning workshop. For more information regarding the Action Plan and the 1997 Decommissioning Workshop Proceedings, please contact John Smith at the Minerals Management Service, (805) 389-7833. The issues have been grouped into five major categories:

(1) Technical,
(2) Environmental,
(3) Disposition,
(4) Site Clearance, and
(5) Policy.

The plan prioritizes issues within each category and designates agency leads for each issue.

High Energy Seismic Survey Review Process

High energy seismic surveys are defined as acoustic data acquisition for the purposes of mineral resources exploration and/or development. They are considered to be the use of airgun arrays for the geophysical data acquisition commonly referred to as 2D and 3D seismic, but excludes seafloor investigative processes such as side scan sonar and shallow hazards surveys.

In 1988, the State Lands Commission (SLC) considered an application from a consortium of companies for a high energy seismic survey permit in State waters. In response to the substantial controversy surrounding issues raised by commercial fishermen, recreational divers and the environmental community, the SLC denied the application and determined that an Environmental Impact Report must be prepared before it could consider future survey applications. The SLC decision was litigated and, in 1990, the California Court of Appeals affirmed the SLC's decision.

In the early 1990s, increasing concern and substantial controversy surrounded the environmental effects of high energy seismic surveys in both State and Federal waters. In particular, these concerns included potential acoustic impacts of noise on the physiology and behavior of marine mammals, impacts on commercial fishing, recreational diving and fish eggs and larvae. Significant controversy regarding the effects of underwater noise on marine organisms was generated by a Scripps Institution of Oceanography proposal to conduct the Acoustic Thermometry of Ocean Climate (ATOC) experiment offshore California. This project, as well as others conducted by the Department of Defense, increased the public awareness of noise related issues.

In 1995, Exxon, operator of the Santa Ynez Unit, submitted a proposal to the MMS to conduct a 30-day high energy seismic survey of the Santa Ynez Unit. The survey encompassed 16 leases and covered 117 square miles offshore Santa Barbara County. This was the first high energy seismic survey conducted offshore since 1988. The regulatory review of the project took eight months to complete because of concerns expressed regarding the scope of environmental review, Coastal Commission jurisdiction, adequacy of mitigation requirements, the timing of public participation, and the need for better agency cooperation. This substantially increased the project review time more than the two to four week project reviews in the 1980s.

In 1996, MMS saw the need to develop a process that meets the needs of all interested parties. In early 1996, MMS polled stakeholders for an expression of interest in forming a team to develop recommendations for improving the process that regulatory agencies follow in reviewing high energy seismic surveys. A broad cross-section of individuals representing government agencies, the offshore oil and gas industry, the geophysical industry, the commercial fishing industry, marine research, and environmental organizations met in June, 1996. From this gathering, the High Energy Seismic Survey (HESS) Team was formed comprised of various stakeholders, including representatives from federal, state, and local agencies, as well as industry and environmental groups. The HESS Team review process is designed to achieve several purposes:

a) Provide a "roadmap" to applicants and the public regarding each agency's role and requirements;
b) Improve communication and coordination among the participating agencies during each process phase; and
c) Identify and provide opportunities for the public to give input to the agencies on the issues to be addressed in the permit review process.

In addition, the HESS Team hosted a panel of national experts in marine mammal physiology, marine acoustics and geophysical survey work to help compile a series of mitigation guidelines for seismic testing, in order to ensure the protection of marine mammals from project related impacts. Among the mitigation measures developed by the group are: the establishment of safety zones and zones of potential harassment; use and verification of transmission loss models; ramp-up procedures to enable marine mammals an opportunity to leave and deter others from entering the area prior to full use of the airgun array; shipboard monitoring by qualified observers; and aerial survey work.

The Team procured the services of Ms. Alana Knaster of The Mediation Institute to facilitate all Team meetings. The first meeting was held on September 30, 1996.

In late 1998, the High Energy Seismic Survey (HESS) Team completed their two-year effort of developing a standardized set of application review procedures and mitigation measures for high energy seismic surveys proposed offshore central and southern California. The final report, titled "High Energy Seismic Survey Review Process and Interim Operational Guidelines for Marine Surveys Offshore Southern California," is available for review at the Energy Division, State Lands Commission, and Minerals Management Service (MMS) offices. The report describes a coordinated process for the review of high energy seismic survey permit applications for the geographic area from Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary south to the Mexican border in State and Federal waters (referred to as the "Study Area").

Summary of the Review Process

The following description of the review process of high energy seismic surveys emphasizes the consideration of applications that could be received over the next few years. On March 5, 1998, the HESS Team recommended to the Regional Director of MMS and the Executive Officer of the CSLC that a Joint Program Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report be prepared. The decision to prepare the PEIS/EIR has been deferred for future consideration. In the interim, proposals to conduct seismic surveys in Federal waters will be reviewed pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidelines. Prior to completion of the PEIS/EIR an EIR will be required for any high energy seismic surveys in State waters. If and when the Joint PEIS/EIR is approved by the MMS and certified by the SLC, a Negative Declaration (ND) tiering on the PEIS/EIR may suffice to meet the requirements of CEQA to consider survey applications for work conducted in state waters. Additionally, high energy seismic surveys occurring in both state and federal waters may be considered for review under a joint Environmental Assessment/Negative Declaration (EA/ND).
For further information, please contact Drew Mayerson,(805)389-7750, at the Minerals Management Service.