Description: Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Study Area polygons represent the generalized geographic extent of studies that have contributed to the stewardship goals of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's (BOEM) Marine Minerals Program (MMP). These studies were fully or partially funded by BOEM, an agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, and consist of reconnaissance- and design-level sand and gravel resource assessments, geologic and geophysical framework studies, research on baseline benthic ecological conditions, and studies aimed at understanding the potential effects of dredging operations on the physical, chemical, and biological environments. One of the main objectives of the MMP is to use these studies to help assess the effects of OCS activities on natural, historical, and human resources, and determine appropriate monitoring and mitigation techniques. Additional support is provided to the MMP via the BOEM's Environmental Studies Program (ESP), which conducts research across the spectrum of the physical, biological, and socioeconomic environments as required by the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) (as amended in 1978) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. OCS marine mineral resource evaluations have historically been completed through partnerships with other federal agencies and cooperative agreements with coastal state agencies and universities with similar study objectives. A considerable portion of the data and data products provided with each study report have been incorporated into the MMP's Marine Minerals Information System (MMIS) geodatabase as feature classes, related tables, attachments (e.g. .pdf document, photos, spreadsheets, etc.), and rasters. These data and data products (e.g. other layers and tables) associated with each study are readily identified in the geodatabase via the corresponding OCS study area ID assigned to each polygon feature. This dataset will be updated as new studies are completed and the associated data become available.
Description: Federal outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Sand and Gravel Borrow Areas (Lease Areas) are polygons which are maintained by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), part of the U.S. Department of the Interior. The polygons define areas where entities that have entered into or have requested a Negotiated Non-Competitive Lease or Memorandum of Agreement with BOEM can dredge sand, gravel or shell resources from the OCS. Section 8 (k) of the OCS Lands Act (OCSLA), as amended by Public Law 103-426 (enacted in 1994), provides BOEM the authority to negotiate an agreement for the use of OCS sand, gravel, and shell resources for use in: (1) a project for shore protection, beach restoration, or coastal restoration under taken by a Federal, State, or local government agency; or (2) for use in a construction project funded in whole or in part by, or authorized by, the Federal government. This dataset is a collection of proposed, previous, and current authorized lease areas under BOEM's purview. The intent is to update the dataset when leases are proposed, added or renewed. Attribution consists of state, sand volume, and dates and identification properties associated with the lease. Revisions to the data, which would most often be to attribution, will occur regularly.
Description: Federal outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Sand and Gravel Dredge Areas are polygons where offshore sand dredging has occurred within authorized lease areas, which are maintained by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), part of the U.S. Department of the Interior. The dredged material (i.e., sand) is transported and deposited along pre-determined coastal area needing nourishment. Entities are authorized to dredge sand, gravel, or shell resources from the OCS after entering into a Negotiated Non-Competitive Lease or Memorandum of Agreement with BOEM. Section 8 (k) of the OCS Lands Act (OCSLA), as amended by Public Law 103-426 (enacted in 1994), provides BOEM the authority to negotiate an agreement for the use of OCS sand, gravel and shell resources for use in: (1) a project for shore protection, beach restoration, or coastal restoration under taken by a Federal, State, or local government agency; or (2) for use in a construction project funded in whole or part by or authorized by the Federal government. This dataset is a collection of previous and current dredge areas under BOEM's purview. The intent is to update the dataset when new dredging occurs, in tandem with new or renewed leases. Attribution consists of state, dredge volume, and dates and identification properties associated with the lease. Revisions to the data will occur regularly.
Description: Beach Placement Areas are polygons representing specific and or generalized locations along the U.S. coastline where dredged material from the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) has been placed as part of a project for shore protection, beach restoration, coastal restoration, or construction project undertaken by a Federal, State, or local government agency. These locations mainly include (but are not limited to) beaches that require shoreline stabilization and beach nourishment in order to reduce future coastal storm flooding and erosion, and to provide cultural, economic, recreational, and environmental habitat benefits. Placement areas for dredged OCS material are specifically defined in every Negotiated Non-Competitive Lease or Memorandum of Agreement with Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) which authorizes contracted entities to dredge sand, gravel, or shell resources from the OCS. Section 8 (k) of the OCS Lands Act (OCSLA) as amended by Public Law 103-426 (enacted in 1994) gives BOEM the authority to negotiate an agreement for the use of OCS sand, gravel, and shell resources for use in: (1) a project for shore protection, beach restoration, or coastal restoration undertaken by a Federal, State, or local government agency; or (2) for use in a construction project funded in whole or in part by, or authorized by, the Federal government. Planned and/or as-built project placement locations are typically provided to the BOEM within or as an attachment (e.g. as-built survey drawing) to the lease agreement and post-construction/project completion reports. The polygon extents are not guaranteed to be exact and may contain estimate boundaries or generalized locations where as-built survey data were not available. This dataset will receive regular updates as new OCS leases are added or renewed and OCS sediment is allocated to planned placement sites along the U.S. coastline. Attribution consists of OCS lease number, project ID, beach ID (placement site ID), placement (construction) start and end dates, placement volume, and the number of miles of coastline restored. Revisions to the data will occur regularly.
Description: The Shore Study Areas layer contains polygons delineating locations along the U.S. coastline that have experienced increased erosion and, as a result, prompted environmental studies to determine (1) the extent of erosion, (2) baseline documentation of shore sediment character, and (3) if the site could benefit from shoreline stabilization and beach nourishment in order to reduce coastal storm flooding and erosion, and provide economic, cultural, recreational, and environmental habitat benefits. If a shoreline area is designated as being in need of restoration and renourishment, and a composite match is made between the shore sand and sand in the Federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), then entities may enter into a Negotiated Non-Competitive Lease or Memoranda of Agreement with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), in order to dredge sand, gravel, or shell resources from the OCS. Section 8 (k) of the OCS Lands Act (OCSLA) as amended by Public Law 103-426 (enacted in 1994) gives BOEM the authority to negotiate an agreement for the use of OCS sand, gravel, and shell resources for use in: (1) a project for shore protection, beach restoration, or coastal restoration undertaken by a Federal, State, or local government agency; or (2) for use in a construction project funded in whole or in part by or authorized by the Federal government. This dataset is a collection of previous and current shore study areas. Attribution consists of Study ID, year of study, and summarized sediment descriptions. The polygon extents are not guaranteed to be exact and may contain estimate boundaries delineated based on visual interpretation of drawings and descriptions found in study documents and post construction reports. The dataset will be updated on a regular basis to reflect new and previous study areas.
Description: *Proven - Resource areas whose thickness and lateral extent have been fully determined through design-level geotechnical and seismic coverage. Generally reserved for (but not limited to) areas that have already been authorized as part of a lease.
*Potential - Resource areas whose existence has been verified through sufficient geotechnical and geophysical data. Thickness and/or lateral extent has not been fully determined. All areas have some combination of geotechnical and geophysical datasets (vibracore, bathymetry, sidescan, and seismic).
*Unverified - Resource areas hypothesized to exist on the basis of indirect evidence (seismic profiles, bathymetry, or sidescan sonar). Inferred sediment types, unit thicknesses and lateral extents have not been confirmed through direct sampling methods.
*Unusable - Resource areas that as a result of additional surveys, prior dredging activity, or infrastructure development are not (or no longer) suitable for future dredging; this designation should not be considered terminal and is subject to change.
The Sand Resource Areas layer contains delineations of areas in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) where there is some likelihood that a usable sand resource exists. The sand resource areas were identified and characterized during governmental reconnaissance- and design-level studies where various geological (e.g. sediment cores, sediment profile images, etc.) and geophysical (e.g. high-resolution swath bathymetry, side-scan sonar, seismic reflection profiles, magnetometer surveys) data were collected in OCS focus areas. The intent is to build on the dataset as updates from new reconnaissance- and design-level studies become available; pre-existing reports will be added to the dataset as time permits. Attribution of each resource generally consists of study location, approximate areal extent, approximate volume, sediment properties, and confidence level (see attribute definition for detailed explanation) of the delineation. Delineations are not guaranteed to be exact and may contain estimate boundaries delineated based on visual interpretation of drawings and descriptions found in study documents and reports. Likewise, the character of sediment deposits qualifying as sand resource areas varies with region and prospective applications for use. If a sand resource area is eventually deemed suitable to serve as a restoration resource for a given site, then entities may enter into a Negotiated Non-Competitive Lease or Memoranda of Agreement with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), in order to dredge sand, gravel or shell resources from the sand resource area. Section 8 (k) of the OCS Lands Act (OCSLA) as amended by Public Law 103-426 (enacted in 1994) gives BOEM the authority to negotiate an agreement for the use of OCS sand, gravel and shell resources for use in: (1) a project for shore protection, beach restoration, or coastal wetlands restoration undertaken by a Federal, State, or local government agency; or (2) for use in a construction project funded in whole or part by or authorized by the Federal government.
Copyright Text: U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Marine Minerals Program and all state and federal partners
Description: This data set contains OCS block aliquots (1/16th of OCS protraction grid block) in ESRI ArcGIS shapefile format for the BOEM Atlantic Ocean Region that contain identified sand resources and areas of sediment disposal managed by the BOEM's Marine Minerals Program. Coastal restoration, beach nourishment, and habitat reconstruction are crucial to mitigate future coastal erosion, land loss, flooding, and storm damage along the Gulf of Mexico and US Atlantic coasts. The success of long-term effort depends on locating and securing significant quantities of OCS sediment resources that are compatible with the target environments being restored. Offshore sand resources, like upland sources, are extremely scarce where most needed. Additionally, some areas of these relatively small offshore sand resources are not extractable because of the presence of infrastructure, archaeologically sensitive areas, and or biologically sensitive areas. Since the use of OCS sediment resources is authorized by the BOEM through its Marine Mineral Program, the bureau is implementing measure to help safeguard the most significant OCS sediment resources, reduce multiple use conflicts, and minimize interference with operations under existing leases or rights-of-way. During the planning process, entities may reference the aliquot attributes provided in this dataset to inquire about specifc resources within those areas. In doing so, the BOEM MMP can continue to serve as an effective steward of our OCS resources. For more info on official OCS block diagrams depicting OCS block information, visit https://www.boem.gov/Oil-and-Gas-Energy-Program/Mapping-and-Data/Atlantic.aspx. For more info on how the BOEM manages multiple uses of resource areas on the OCS, visit https://www.boem.gov/Multiple-Uses-of-the-OCS/.
Copyright Text: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Office of Leasing and Plans, Marine Minerals Program and Mapping and Automation Section
https://www.boem.gov/Multiple-Uses-of-the-OCS/
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Name: Gulf of Mexico OCS Blocks with Significant Sediment Resources
Display Field: BLOCK_LAB
Type: Feature Layer
Geometry Type: esriGeometryPolygon
Description: This data set contains OCS block outlines and delineated polygons in ESRI ArcGIS shape file format for the BOEM Gulf of Mexico Region that contain sediment resources and areas of disposal in support of the Marine Minerals Program. Coastal restoration, beach nourishment, and levee reconstruction are crucial to mitigate future coastal erosion, land loss, flooding, and storm damage in the Gulf of Mexico. The success of that long-term effort depends on locating and securing significant quantities of OCS sediment resources that are compatible with the target environments being restored. Offshore sand resources, like upland sources, are extremely scarce where most needed. Additionally, vast areas of these relatively small offshore sand resources are not extractable because of the presence of oil and gas infrastructure, archaeologically sensitive areas, and biologically sensitive areas. Since the use of OCS sediment resources is authorized by the BOEM through its Marine Mineral Program, the bureau is implementing several measures to help safeguard the most significant OCS sediment resources, reduce multiple use conflicts, and minimize interference with oil and gas operations under existing leases or rights-of-way.
Copyright Text: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Office of Leasing and Plans, Mapping and Automation Section
Color:
[0, 0, 0, 255] Background Color: N/A Outline Color: N/A Vertical Alignment: bottom Horizontal Alignment: center Right to Left: false Angle: 0 XOffset: 0 YOffset: 0 Size: 8 Font Family: Arial Font Style: normal Font Weight: normal Font Decoration: none