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Show production activities on Federal Outer Continental Shelf leases. Use of the sea, its waters, the seabed, and what lies under it, offers one of the most promising frontiers of opportunity. But the development of mineral resources from the Outer Continental Shelf must be considered in relation to navigation, commercial and sport fishing, scientific and research activities, bottom-dwelling marine life, recreation, defense installations and projects, and aesthetic values. By treaty, by law, and by regulation, the United States has attempted to protect the Outer Continental Shelf environment and the adjacent waters and shores. But recent massive oil leaks and spills in the Santa Barbara Channel and in the Gulf of Mexico indicate that administrative actions have not, in fact, been adequate to minimize or prevent damage to other uses and values.12- 13 To avoid repetitions of these incidents with their resultant damage to beaches, marine property, and marine life, administrative procedures and actions, as recommended elsewhere in this report, must be improved and tightened. During this Commission's review, we were encouraged, first, by the promulgation of regulations and, subsequently, by the passage by Congress of an act imposing absolute liability upon the lessee for cleanup of oil spills occasioned by drilling or production operations. In order to assure continuity coupled with a certainty of minimizing damage, to the extent possible, we favor statutory definition of a lessee's liability. While placing liability on the lessee will assure correction of the damage, it is far more important to take whatever action the Government can to minimize, if not eliminate, the possibility of pollution or other adverse impacts on the environment. Elsewhere in this report, we make specific recommendations relative to the enhancement or maintenance of the environment on public lands generally. However, the impact from a leak on Outer Continental Shelf operations is so great that we urge accelerated action to implement all the recommendations contained in this chapter as part of the process of the increased vigilance that is necessary to guard against future incidents involving oil spills on the Outer Continental Shelf. With such increased vigilance, we believe it is possible to continue oil and gas 12 In this connection, the Commission notes that there is a parallel and sometimes greater threat to the environment by reason of spills caused from accidents incurred by the tankers currently being used to transport oil. 13 Rocky Mountain Center on Environment, Environmental Problem on the Public Land, Pt. II, case study No. 11. PLLRC Study Report, 1970, contains a detailed description of the Santa Barbara oil spill and its environmental consequences. leasing on the Shelf and not deny the United States this vital source of domestic supply. Notices and Public Hearings Recommendation 74: Proposals to open areas of the Outer Continental Shelf to leasing, including both the call for nomination of tracts and the invitation to bid, as well as operational orders and waivers of order requirements should be published in at least one newspaper of general circulation in each state adjacent to the area proposed for leasing or for which orders are promulgated. Where a state, on the recommendation of local interests or otherwise, believes that Outer Continental Shelf leasing may create environmental hazards, or that necessary precautionary measures may not be provided, or that natural preservation of an area is in the best interest of the public, then, at the state's request, a public hearing should be held and specific findings issued concerning the objections raised. Existing regulations neither require public hearings, nor do they provide for any public notice which would prompt a request for such a hearing, other than a call for nominations of tracts to be leased.14 The call for nominations is the procedure by which the Department of the Interior seeks to identify the tracts that should be offered for lease at a particular time. In past practice, the operating industry has had the greatest influence by indicating its interest in certain tracts which it would like to see offered for one reason or another. We also note that of all the concerned Federal agencies, only the Department of Defense has asserted considerable influence in the designation of tracts for lease, even though others, such as the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries in the Fish and Wildlife Service, would appear to have a direct interest. Parenthetically, therefore, this underlines a need for our earlier recommendation to centralize Federal authority over the activities on the Shelf. We do not imply that greater surveillance by Federal agencies over tracts to be offered for lease will fill the existing gap. Presently, the call for nominations is published in the Federal Register which is seen by relatively few people. A press release issued by the Department of the Interior generally results in publicity only in the trade press. These notices, while ample for the purpose of notifying the oil and gas industry, are insufficient notice to the public that a sale may be held. 14 See 43 C.F.R. Pt. 3380 (1969). 191 |