The Regulation of Seismic Exploration in the United States

On December 4, 2013, the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service published Federal Register notice of NMFS’ final regulations under the Marine Mammal Protection Act governing the unintentional taking of marine mammals incidental to training and testing activities conducted in the Atlantic Fleet Training and Testing Study Area from November 2013 through November 2018.  These rules make some changes in sonar and explosives regulation, but for seismic airguns they continue to use 160, 180 and 190 dB as the regulatory thresholds, depending on species and type of effect.

In its Federal Register notice, NMFS states:

The Navy requested an authorization under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, because the sound generated by active sonar, the sound and pressure generated by detonating explosives, and other associated activities could affect the behavior of some marine mammals, or cause a temporary loss of their hearing sensitivity or other injury.

The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service has launched a new option in the Authorizations and Permits for Protected Species online permit system  (“APPS”).  You may now apply for a Letter of Confirmation under the General Authorization for marine mammal research.

 You may need an LOC if you will be conducting scientific research on marine mammals in the wild that are not listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act, and your research will not exceed Level B harassment.   Qualifying activities may include: photo-identification, aerial surveys, and passive acoustics.

The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service has denied a petition to list the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) in the Gulf of Mexico as an endangered or threatened distinct population segment under the U.S Endangered Species Act.  NMFS’ action responds to 2011 petition filed by WildEarth Guardians.  CRE filed comments with NMFS opposing the petitioned action.

Click here to read NMFS’ Federal Register notice denying the petition.

Click here to read CRE’s comments opposing the petition.

Apache Corporation has received the 2013 Chairman’s Stewardship Award from the Interstate Oil & Gas Compact Commission for its use of wireless seismic technology in Alaska’s Cook Inlet.

Apache was nominated for the stewardship award by the Alaska Oil and Gas Association (AOGA). The company’s submission was entitled “Using Wireless Technology to Overcome Environmental Challenges in Alaska’s Cook Inlet.” It won in the “small-independent” category.

Apache’s Cook Inlet 3-D seismic program employs the industry’s first true cable-free wireless seismic technology to acquire 3-D seismic data in order to limit disturbance of communities, wildlife and the environment in the Cook Inlet area.

The National Science Foundation, in partnership with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and international partners, has made the first round of awards under a program that supports interdisciplinary science important to understanding the sustainability of the Arctic. The research will examine the impacts of the changing natural environment and socio-economic conditions on the region.

BOEM will focus its funding, combined with NSF funds, on two studies related to the bureau’s offshore energy management decisions for the Alaskan Outer Continental Shelf.

The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service has issued an Endangered Species Act Section 7 Biological Opinion to accompany NMFS’ issuance of an Incidental Harassment Authorization under the Marine Mammal Protection Act to TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Company ASA . This IHA authorized specified marine mammal takes for Marine 2D Seismic Activities in the Federal and International Waters in the Chukchi Sea, during the 2013 Open Water Season.

On November 4, 2013, the Center for Regulatory Effectiveness filed comments on the U. S. National Marine Fisheries Service’s proposed extension of its Information Collection Request covering oil and gas seismic and some other “Takes” of marine mammals under the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act.  Under the U.S. Paperwork Reduction Act, the Office of Management and Budget has to review and approve this ICR before NMFS can collect the information it covers.

CRE’s comments made the following and other points.

The proposed extension ICR contains burden estimates that are inconsistent with the burden estimates in the current ICR.

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has published the agency’s Annual Progress Report on the Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program 2012-2017, which the Secretary of the Interior approved on August 27, 2012.  BOEM prepared the report, which summarizes program activities over the past year, as part of the annual review of the Five Year Program called for under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.

The report provides the public an overview of the activities that have occurred during the previous year.  Specifically, it addresses statistics of sales that have occurred; deferrals and mitigations; a summary of completed and ongoing safety and environmental studies; regulatory updates; a discussion of any significant new drilling activities; a summary of any significant incidents; and other relevant information.

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has published a final Environmental Impact Statement for oil and gas leasing in the Gulf of Mexico. At pages 4-47 to 4-48, the EIS includes this conclusion regarding the impact of oil and gas seismic on GOM marine mammals:

“NTL 2012-JOINT-G02, ‘Implementation of Seismic Survey Mitigation Measures and Protected Species Observer Program,’ minimizes the potential of harm from seismic operations to marine mammals. These mitigations include onboard observers, airgun shut-downs for whales in the exclusion zone, ramp-up procedures, and the use of a minimum sound source. Therefore, no significant cumulative impacts to marine mammals would be expected as a result of the proposed exploration activities when added to the impacts of past, present, or reasonably foreseeable oil and gas development in the area, as well as other ongoing activities in the area.