Ocean Research Environmental Studies Program

The BOEMRE major legal mandates are the OCSLA and NEPA. An objective of both laws is to provide the information needed for balanced decisionmaking. Both direct BOEMRE to study the human environment, and both include guidance on Bureau social and economic information needs. The ESP social science research provides information essential to understanding the consequences of OCS-related activities on the populations, economies, and social and cultural systems in areas where the activities occur, it supports BOEMRE planning and management processes, and provides information for effective interaction with the public about such effects.

Social and economic effects can occur at all stages of OCS development, from prior to a lease sale, through exploration, development and production, to decommissioning and the cessation of activities. Therefore, BOEMRE designs studies to address the data and analytical needs arising from these specific phases in order to aid in the decisionmaking process.

The possible social and economic effects of the program are among those of greatest concern to the public and to Federal, state and local government officials. Analysis of these dimensions can provide a better understanding of how future long-term impacts will affect communities and ways of life and will allow for predictions of these impacts. In addition, this information allows the decisionmaker to discuss the likely impacts of development in terms (e.g. jobs, income, public services, subsistence resources, etc.) familiar to the public, thereby allowing the public to examine the project in terms relevant to their own communities and lives.

Applied Social Sciences in BOEMRE: A Framework for Decision Making

Completed study reports are available in ESPIS

For more information, contact Barbara Wallace