News

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management today announced the decision to cancel Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 257, which had been scheduled to take place on March 17, 2021.  The lease sale would have offered ~80 million acres in federal waters off Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. In rescinding the Record of Decision that was announced in January, […]

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management today announced its decision to issue the first lease for a wave energy research project in federal waters off the West Coast, calling the development “another step forward in achieving the Biden administration’s goals to address climate change and promote offshore renewable energy production.” The lease, issued to Oregon State University, covers

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management today announced that they are reopening the comment period through Friday, Apr. 9 on their proposal to revise 21 existing regulations and add 13 new regulations governing exploration drilling in U.S. Arctic waters.  The previous comment period closed on Feb. 8. In announcing the reopening,

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service last month announced that it is providing an additional 30 days of public comment through Mar. 27 on its proposal to designate ~5,900 square miles of critical habitat for the following threatened Caribbean corals: Orbicella annularis, O. faveolata, O. franksi, Dendrogyra cylindrus, and Mycetophyllia ferox.  The proposed critical habitat includes areas extending

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management today announced that Amanda Lefton will serve as Director.  Lefton’s background includes experience as First Assistant Secretary for Energy and the Environment for New York, Deputy Policy Director for The Nature Conservancy, Albany District Director for the Rochester Regional Joint Board of Workers United, and legislative aide in the New York

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management today announced the withdrawal of the public review period and virtual public hearings for proposed Cook Inlet oil and gas Lease Sale 258 that had previously been scheduled for Mar. 1 and throughout February, respectively. In announcing the decision, BOEM cited the Jan. 2021 Executive Order on “Tackling the Climate Crisis at

Environment America today announced the release of a new report on “New Life for the Ocean: How Marine Protections Keep Our Waters Wild.”  Conducted by the organization’s Research & Policy Center and Frontier Group, the study includes recommendations that, among other things, call on the federal and state governments to adopt goals to protect at least

The State Department today announced that the Shipping Coordinating Committee will hold a public meeting on Thursday, Apr. 29 in preparation for the 103rd session of the International Maritime Organization’s Maritime Safety Committee, to be held remotely on May 5-14.  Agenda items include a regulatory scoping exercise for the use of maritime autonomous surface ships, measures to enhance maritime

In an Executive Order on “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad” issued today, President Biden directed a series of actions to “pursue action at home and abroad in order to avoid the most catastrophic impacts of that crisis and to seize the opportunity that tackling climate change presents.” Among other things, the Executive Order establishes

NOAA today announced $4.7 million in federal funding to support 12 research projects to further understanding of the economics of aquaculture and provide market information in support of domestic growth.  Grantees are required to match 50% of their funding with non-federal dollars. National Sea Grant Director Jonathan Pennock said that Sea Grant “is committed to understanding the