October 20 and 21, 1998
Panama City, Florida

MMS Director's Remarks
Take a look at some of the events and policies that will be affecting the offshore program into the next century, and how we are proposing to address our resource management responsibilities.

Offshore Associate Director's Remarks
What are the major challenges and opportunities facing the Offshore program over the next couple of years?

Regional Activities:

• Alaska OCS Region
• Gulf of Mexico Region
• Pacific Region

Come and meet the new Chairperson, Jerome Selby, and the Vice-chairperson, Don Oltz,   who were elected from the membership of the OCS Policy Committee to serve 2-year terms. Kudos, go to James I. Palmer, Jr., who has served as the Chairperson for the past 2 years. Thank you Jimmy for a job well done!

Meeting Presentations:

• What is the Department of Energy’s idea for a Comprehensive National Energy Strategy? The Department of Energy have set forth a set of five common-sense goals for the national energy policy. And these goals are further elaborated by a series of objectives and strategies to illustrate how the goals will be achieved.  See the Bob Stewart's slide presentation and an outline of his remarks.

• The President's June 1998 Directive imposing Leasing Moratoria on certain OCS Lands.

  • In response to the President's directive, the OCS Policy Committee adopted the following Resolutions.

  • Also, be sure to check out the "Status of Federal OCS Leasing Program" map.  (NOTE!  This is a 1.8 Mb file.)  

• Preparation for Developing the Next Five-Year Leasing Program.   Including information on how the Leasing Moratoria will effect it.

• Get current on what’s happening with the National Ocean Commission and Federal Follow-Up Activities. Look at a "Side-by-Side Comparison" of the House and Senate versions of the "Oceans Act of 1998".  This bill would establish a Presidential Commission to examine Federal ocean policies and programs.

• Coastal Impact Assistance--The OCS Policy Committee has supported the concept of assistance to States and local communities impacted by the OCS Program in its report Coastal Impact Assistance and Moving Beyond Conflict to Consensus . The OCS is considered a national resource and revenue received from leasing and development activities currently is deposited in the Federal Treasury. In its reports, the Committee expresses the view that "while the benefits of the OCS program are national, a disproportionate share of the infrastructure, environmental and social costs are local." In its Coastal Impact Assistance report, the Committee recommends a program to share 27% of revenue from the OCS with coastal States. Inclusion of all coastal States as eligible recipients recognizes that they form a unified coalition of entities with similar interests relating to their coastline. Both the House and Senate introduced legislation in the 105th Congress on impact assistance. Many features of the Committee's proposal can be found in Title I of each of piece of legislation

• See what the Chair (Jim Coleman), envisions as the two major purposes and tasks of the Outer Continental Shelf Scientific Committee.

• Subcommittee on Oil Spill Financial Responsibility Report--The report of the Subcommittee on Oil-Spill Financial Responsibility responds to an MMS request for advice from the OCS Policy Committee on how the new Federal oil-spill financial responsibility (OSFR) regulations should be implemented in State coastal waters. The regulations require persons responsible for certain hydrocarbon exploration, production, and pipeline facilities to demonstrate they can pay for cleanup and damages resulting from facility oil spills. The analysis and recommendations in the subcommittee report focus on how MMS and the affected States can work cooperatively to ensure that persons responsible for offshore facilities located in State waters fully comply with the OSFR requirements.

• Hard Minerals Update--The board approved the establishment of the OCS Hard Minerals Subcommittee which is the old OCS Sand, Gravel and Shell Subcommittee.