Marine Minerals Activities

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Marine Minerals Activities
Renee Orr Chief, Leasing Division OCS Policy
Committee Meeting Annapolis, Maryland
February 22, 2007
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FY 07 Budget Continuing Resolution

• 8 million OMM budget shortfall forcing MMS to
  reassess all spending
• What level of activity can MMS sustain
• Comprehensive Marine Minerals Program Review
• On-going and new Environmental Studies
• Processing and Prioritization of lease requests
• In process
• New

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Post-Katrina/Rita Offshore Sand for Gulf Coast
States Coastal Restoration

• Funded by a special hurricane relief
  appropriation of 1.28 million in 2006.
  Advertised through Grants.Gov in Jan. 2007
• Must involve planned use of OCS sand to restore
  parts of the coast damaged by Katrina and Rita
• Specified for Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana,
  and Texas
• Proposals have been received from all 4 states
• Grants will be awarded this Spring and project
  kick-off meeting will held in late March

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Proposed Sand Projects for Post-Katrina/Rita
Grants

• Louisiana Explore Tiger and Trinity shoals
  offshore of the central coast
• Texas Explore Sabine and Colorado
  paleo-channels, east Texas coast
• Mississippi Study seismic data in the St.
  Bernard shoals off the eastern coast
• Alabama Construct an interactive offshore sand
  resource data mapper

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Request for Salt Lease Sale offshore New Jersey

• Eva Porite Mineral Solutions LLC has proposed to
  solution-mine salt from sites 60-80 miles off New
  Jersey
• Mined salt would be shipped by barge to chemical
  plants in Delaware

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Requests to Lease Minerals in the Pacific EEZ

• Two companies have requested leases for metallic
  minerals in the EEZ offshore of the Northern
  Marianas islands
• One company, Nautilus Minerals is now developing
  a metals mining operation in deep water off Papua
  New Guinea with a new 150 million mining ship
  and ROVs
• MMS currently does not have specific authority to
  offer leases outside of the OCS off the 50 states
• The Issue is under review by DOI solicitors

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Current Sand Lease Requests

• Sandbridge/Virginia Beach, VA
• Myrtle Beach/Horry County, SC
• Volusia County, FL
• Pelican Island, LA
• Whiskey, Island, LA
• Racoon Island, LA
• Brewing sand wars in Florida

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Major Ongoing Marine Minerals Environmental
Studies

• LA Ship Shoal and Tiger/Trinity Shoals (Ship
  Shoal study indicates that physical and
  biological conditions on shoals offshore LA are
  radically different than reported previously in
  literature)

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Major Ongoing Marine Minerals Environmental
Studies

• Florida East and West Coasts Biological/Physical
  Study (East coast effort being used in
  development of sand lease for Volusia County)

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Major Ongoing Marine Minerals Environmental
Studies
Dredging Guidelines Development (field work to be
conducted at Isle of Wight Shoal to examine in
detail physical and biological characteristics
of shoal features and recommend dredging
techniques to mitigate potential impacts)
Criteria for Shoal Selection for Detailed
Investigation
? Positive ? Reasonable Negative
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Major Ongoing Marine Minerals Environmental
Studies

• Examination of the Physical and Biological
  Implications of Using Buried Channel Deposits and
  Other Non-Topographic Features as Beach
  Nourishment Material
• Examining in detail potential effects associated
  with dredging buried channel deposits
• Buried channel deposits are being targeted as
  sand sources for numerous LA barrier island
  restoration efforts
• Biological and physical field date being
  collected at Holly Beach, LA dredge pit

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Possible New Marine Mineral Environmental Efforts

• Biological/Physical effort offshore San Francisco
  
• 700K from MMS ESP over three years
• IA with USGS/Santa Cruz
• Partnering and additional funds provided by USGS,
  State of CA, City of San Francisco, Army Corps
• Study will be used in development of sand lease
  to State/City of SF for project at Ocean Beach to
  protect integrity of Citys main sewage
  treatment/outfall facility, as well as the Great
  Hwy, one of SFs main north-south roadways

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Possible New Marine Mineral Environmental Efforts

• Possible new LSU/MMS Coastal Marine Institute
  Effort Assessing the Impacts of Spawning Blue
  Crab Populations on the Use of Ship Shoal Sand
  for Louisiana Barrier Island Restoration
• Ship Shoal study resulted in the identification
  of possible spawning areas for blue crabs never
  noted before offshore LA
• Could have implications regarding seasonal or
  areal restrictions on use of sand

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Questions ?