Us Department Of Interior News

The U.S. Department of Interior on Tuesday approved the construction and operations plan for the 2.6 GW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, located approximately 23.5 nautical miles off Virginia Beach, VA.This is the fifth approval of a commercial-scale offshore wind energy project in the United States.Located approximately 23.5 nautical miles offshore Virginia Beach, the CVOW commercial project is the largest yet.According to the Department of Interior, the project is expected to provide about 900 jobs each year during the construction phase and support an estimated 1…

Crowley signed an agreement on Thursday with the Port of Humboldt Bay to exclusively negotiate to be the developer and operator of a terminal to serve as California’s first hub for offshore wind energy installations. Through Crowley’s Wind Services group, the company will enter into negotiations with the port to lease and serve as the port’s developer of the Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind Heavy Lift Marine Terminal. The services provided will support tenants in the manufacturing, installation and operation of offshore wind floating platforms…

The Biden administration on Friday took a procedural step towards holding an auction for oil and gas drilling rights in the Cook Inlet off the coast of Alaska next year.The move is the latest effort by the U.S. Department of Interior to comply with a court order to resume oil and gas lease sales that President Joe Biden paused shortly after taking office in January.The Department of Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said it would kick off a 45-day public comment period for the proposed sale's draft environmental analysis.

The Trump administration on Thursday proposed to loosen Obama-era safety regulations for the oil industry in the Arctic Ocean off Alaska to ease the way for petroleum extraction in the region, an effort that President-elect Joe Biden will likely throw out once in office.The proposal would revise a suite of Obama-era rules crafted to improve safety in the extreme conditions of the Arctic after a Shell drilling rig ran aground there in 2012. The company later abandoned oil exploration in the region and there are no active drilling operations there.Now, much of the U.S.

The first major U.S. offshore wind farm, planned for the Massachusetts coast, reached a key permitting milestone on Tuesday with the release of a long-awaited federal environmental study that considers the project's impacts on fisheries and navigation.Publication of the document marks a step forward for the Vineyard Wind project, which has experienced delays over concerns that its wind turbines will hurt commercial fishing. The supplemental review by the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management…

Vineyard Wind, the developer of the first major U.S. offshore wind farm, said on Tuesday it will miss its target to start sending power to Massachusetts by 2022 due to lengthy federal permitting delays.The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, part of the U.S. Department of Interior, posted a revised permitting timeline on its website on Tuesday that said it will issue a final decision on the project by Dec. 18, more than a year after its previous target of August 2019."While we need to analyze what a longer permitting timeline will mean for beginning construction…

The National Oil Spill Response Research and Renewable Energy Test Facility has been an integral part of the spill response community for more than three and a half decades. Tucked away on the shores of the Sandy Hook Bay in central New Jersey resides Ohmsett – The National Oil Spill Response Research and Renewable Energy Test Facility. It has been an integral part of the spill response community for more than three and a half decades. Government agencies, private industry, and oil spill response organizations from around the world have visited the facility for testing, research and training.

The U.S. Department of Interior said it plans to make a major announcement on Thursday about energy resources on the U.S. Arctic Outer Continental Shelf.   Officials plan to discuss the latest announcement on a series of reforms related to the production of energy resources on public land in a press call at 3:30 p.m. EDT (1930 GMT), the department said in a statement. (Reporting by Adam DeRose; Editing by Eric Walsh)

The Obama administration has taken steps to keep drill rigs out of Alaska's northern ocean for a decade or more. The sudden of turnabouts is attributed to slowing down of economy. The U.S. Department of Interior announced that it is canceling two lease sales and will not extend current leases for companies interested in drilling in the Arctic waters off the Alaska coat. "The federal government is cancelling federal petroleum lease sales in US Arctic waters that were scheduled for 2016 and 2017," said Interior Secretary Sally Jewell. This happened three weeks after Royal Dutch Shell announced it was walking away from exploratory drilling in US Arctic waters.

National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) president Randall Luthi today voiced his support for the U.S. Department of Interior’s (DOI) Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale scheduled for next week. “The call to delay next week’s Department of the Interior Western Gulf of Mexico oil and natural gas lease sale shows how out of touch with energy reality and the American people some extremist environmental groups are,” Luthi said in a statement issued today. “Due to low oil prices and increasing regulatory burden, this is not expected to be a momentous sale, but even so, the oil and gas industry will add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the U.S. Treasury.

Green groups urged the U.S. Department of Interior on Tuesday to revoke the agency's conditional approval of Royal Dutch Shell's 2015 Arctic oil exploration plan, saying it runs counter to established protections for walruses. A 2013 rule implemented by the Fish and Wildlife Service, a bureau of the Interior Department, prevents energy companies from exploring for oil simultaneously at wells in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska that are within 15 miles (24 km) of each other. The rule is meant to protect walrus populations that are sensitive to the noise and disruption of drilling in their habitat. But Shell's exploration plan for the Chukchi…

The US government is expected this week to give the go-ahead to a controversial plan by Shell Oil Company, one of the largest oil companies in the world to restart drilling for oil in the Arctic. The UPI reports that the decision rests on the U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, who is expected to announce the decision on Wednesday. The green light from Sally Jewell, the interior secretary, will spark protests from environmentalists who have campaigned against proposed exploration by Shell. Environmentalists are concerned with the issue, since technology has not been prepared to deal with an oil spill in that region. The Environmental Impact Statement claims there is a 75 percent chance of a large spill occurring.

The Greenstone II, a U.S. Department of Interior fuel barge, was relaunched at Port Calcite upon completion of drydocking, repair work and inspections. The barge was hauled out at the Port Calcite facility in late May by Port Calcite Collaborative’s 440-ton Manitowoc 16000 crane. Schwartz Boiler of Cheboygan, Mich. performed the blasting, painting and repair work. Upon inspection and approval by the U.S. Coast Guard, the barge was returned to the water in late June. It has departed for the transit back to its homeport of Houghton, Michigan.

Maritime industry executives Captain Michael Wilson and Jim Watson are keynote speakers for SHIPPINGInsight 2014, North America’s premier maritime industry technical forum, Sept. 30 through Oct. 2, 2014 in Stamford, Conn., at the Sheraton Stamford Hotel. Wilson, president of Laurin Maritime (Americas) Inc. and chief operating officer of Laurin Maritime, and Watson, president and chief operating officer of ABS Americas, will be the lead speakers at SHIPPINGInsight’s Fleet Optimization Conference & Exhibition on Oct. 1 and 2.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to hold first ever competitive lease sales in federal waters south of Rhode Island & Massachusetts on July 31, 2013. Citing a U.S. Department of Interior release, Reuters report that BOEM will auction commercial wind energy leases to 164,750 acres located about 9.2 nautical miles south of Rhode Island. According to a report recently released by the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the North Lease has the potential for installed capacity of 1,955 megawatts (MW), and the South Lease, 1,440 MW. Together, the Interior Department consider these areas could support enough electricity to power more than 1 million homes. Source: Reuters

As overall efforts lag off the Jersey coast, a federal agency approves Atlantic Wind Connection’s transmission plans pending environmental impact statement. The U.S. Department of Interior has announced there was no competitive interest in using certain areas of the Outer Continental Shelf to build a backbone transmission system 12 to 15 miles off the coasts of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, according to the 'NJ Spotlight'. The declaration means the Atlantic Wind Connection (AWC) project, a system spanning about 300 miles, will avoid delays associated with an auction if there had been competitors seeking to secure the same right-of-way on the shelf. AWC officials say it could shave one year off the time it takes to develop the project.

On April 23, 2012, Dr. Stephen M. Coan delivered remarks entitled “The Future of Our Ocean”, part of the Open VISIONS Forum Lecture Series and presented at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, Fairfield University, Fairfield, Conn. Following is the text of his speech. Water sustains life on Earth, and the health of our oceans, lakes, rivers, streams and marshlands, which cover 70% of the planet’s surface, is critically important to global economic and human health. Imagine this vast environment and what it could mean for us if we were able to better harvest food…

Two 17-knot high-speed research vessels for the U.S. Geological Survey are scheduled to be dedicated at Great Lakes Shipyard, Cleveland, Ohio, on Wednesday, August 31, 2011. R/V KAHO and R/V MUSKIE will replace two of the USGS’s oldest research vessels by the same names that are currently operating on Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, respectively. The USCG’s five-vessel fleet supports missions that collect and analyze oceanographic and fisheries information. The U.S. Department of Interior’s U.S.

Two 17-knot high-speed research vessels for the U.S. Geological Survey are to be dedicated at Great Lakes Shipyard, Cleveland, Ohio, on Wednesday, August 31, 2011. R/V KAHO and R/V MUSKIE will replace two of the USGS’s oldest research vessels by the same names that are currently operating on Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, respectively. The USCG’s five-vessel fleet supports missions that collect and analyze oceanographic and fisheries information. The U.S. Department of Interior’s U.S.

In order to support the oil and gas industry in complying with the US Department of Interior’s new regulations for immediate re-certification of subsea BOP (blow-out preventer) stacks, DNV has issued a Recommended Practise guiding owners and operators through requirements and technical aspects. As one of the responses to the Deepwater Horizon accident, the US Department of Interior former Minerals Management Service issued increased safety measures for energy development on the outer continental shelf. Oil companies have complained about the lack of clarity over the new rules. “To support the industry with guidance and a tool for the re-certification DNV…

The Savannah-Chatham Police Marine Patrol has taken delivery of a 27-ft. Workskiff Harbor Security boat. The boat, obtained through a federal grant from the Transportation Security Administration, will be used to patrol the abundance of waterways throughout Chatham County, including security duty along the Savannah River waterfront. The Marine Patrol regularly patrols the local waterways, working with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the United States Coast Guard, providing harbor enforcement and providing an extra layer of security for Savannah's busy port. Accordingly, the Marine Patrol investigates waterway and marine-related accidents and/or crimes. The unit also enforces all the safe-boating laws of the State of Georgia.

Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. has been named the recipient of the U.S. Department of Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) 2001 National SAFE Award (Safety Award for Excellence) for Drilling Contractors. The award, which recognizes outstanding performance in safety and environmental protection, is presented annually to one company in each of four categories: operator with high activity, operator with moderate activity, drilling contractor and production contractor. Drilling contractors are made finalists for the MMS National Award by winning District Safe Awards from the MMS. For 2001, Diamond Offshore was awarded three of the five Gulf of Mexico District SAFE Awards for drilling contractors.

Members of the U.S. Coast Guard, Canadian coast guard, State of Alaska and other state and provincial government agencies are scheduled to participate in a combined oil spill and wildlife protection training and exercise in Ketchikan from September 24-27. The training will focus on response efforts in the Dixon Entrance area. The weeklong event will combine oil spill response training and wildlife protection and cleaning as it relates to an international oil spill scenario. The event will involve on water training, completion of planning documents and a tabletop exercise. The State of Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Alaska Department of Fish and Game the U.S. Department of Interior, the U.S.