Meeting probes problems between industry & EFH

Sea Technology, Mar 2000

According to the National Ocean Industries Association (the oil industry lobbying organization), a series of meetings were held with congressional staff and administration officials to discuss the current and future problems facing industry from the recently implemented essential fish habitat (EFH) regulations. The act requires the National Marine Fisheries Service to identify and minimize the "adverse effects" on fish habitat from both fishing and non-fishing activities, including oil and gas operations.

The NOIA-led group made a series of visits, including stops with congressional staff from Gulf and oil producing states, the majority and minority staff from the House Resources and Senate Commerce committees, NMFS officials in charge of the EFH program, and the principal investigator at the GAO. The industries message during each meeting was the same: the EFH provisions as implemented have gone well beyond the scope intended by Congress, results in permit delays and creating a powerful new tool for adversely affecting coastal development.

While the EFH issue has yet to result in noticeable impacts on offshore operations, impacts are already being seen in wetlands and other onshore areas with oil and gas operations.

During NOIA's meeting with GAO, industry expressed concerns over the science used by NMFS to identify essential fishery habitat and to develop the habitat mitigation recommendations. GAO officials said they intend ed to complete their research on the NMFS implementation of the Sustainable Fisheries Act and issue a report to Congress by February 2000.