The Offshore Environmental Studies Program (1973-1989): a summary of Minerals Management Service research conducted on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf

This report provides and overview of the first 15 years of the Environmental Studies Program (ESP), conducted initally by the Bureau of Land Management and now as part of the Minerals Management Service. From 1973 to 1988, the ESP spent nearly $500 million on studies directed to better understand the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and coastal environment and to use this information to document or predict effects of offshore oil and gas activities. This report organizes the hundreds of completed studies and thousands of resulting documents into 15 study topic chapters. Each chapter... cites selected studies and provides a general discussion of program objectives and results. Where appropriate, each topic is discussed by OCS Region (Alaksa, Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Pacific). ... The goal of this report is to provide readers with a general account of the ESP's technical accomplishments and sources of detailed information. To understand the ESP, however, it is necessary to place this program in perspective with the entire OCS oil and gas program.