mits to be issued, and (2) to observe geophysical explorations in areas of aquatic life concentration. When in the course of such observation it appears that undue damage to living resources may result, the Bureau can recommend appropriate corrective action. Nonexplosive devices Rapid advances are being made in geophysical techniques and today nonexplosive seismic methods are widely used offshore. Only nonexplosive devices have been used on Georges Bank since 1966 when operations using explosive charges were suspended when it became apparent that they were harmful to marine life in the particular area of operations. Although explosives may need to be used for detail work in limited areas, the new nonexplosive seismic systems, which apparently do not damage marine life, have replaced the explosive methods in large measure. The Bureau of Commercial Fisheries recently conducted tests on 2 nonexplosive devices—a 120,000 Joule sparker and the Vibroseis device. Within limits of the experiments, it was found that neither device produced any noticeable damage to aquatic life. One of these tests dealt solely with adult fish. The experiment with the Vibroseis dealt with planktonic organisms attempting to find evidence of external damage. This test did not indicate that the Vibroseis caused any damage to the planktonic organisms used in the experiment. However, because of the difficulties of experiments at sea with these small, fragile organisms, further studies to verify this are in order. The State of Alaska, after checking similar nonexplosive devices, has concluded that they are not sufficiently damaging even to require that an observer be on board during shooting operations. As new devices are developed, their harmlessness as "nonexplosive systems" must be examined. PLANNING OF LEASE OFFERINGS The Department has conducted 16 oil and gas lease sales on the Outer Continental Shelf since passage of the OCS Act in 1953. A total of 1,220 oil and gas leases covering 5,477,460 acres have been issued. At the present time 911 leases covering 3,953,000 acres are in effect. Of the more than 6,300 wells drilled on the OCS about 3,600 are producing. All of the OCS production to date has been from areas off Louisiana and Texas. When the Department has received sufficient expressions of interest for a competitive lease sale in a given area, which may take several years, a Call for Nominations of lease tracts is published in the Federal Register identifying the area for future leasing consideration. Companies are given a reasonable period within which to advise the Department of tracts in which they are interested. The Department analyzes all of the nominated lease blocks and confers with other governmental agencies before selecting the parcels to be leased. These events are published in the local area because local interest is always high. Finally, the Department decides on those parcels to be offered for lease and a Notice of Lease Sale is published in the Federal Register describing the areas and the terms of the lease sale. The lease sale is usually held within 30 to 90 days thereafter in an appropriate city within the area. On the average, this period from beginning of interest to the lease sale date will cover 2 years. It is believed that all multiple use interests have been taken into consideration in past lease sales. BLOWOUT PROTECTION It is mandatory to the oil company lessee and the Interior Department as Federal lessor that all producing wells be properly drilled and produced, and that no well be permitted to blow out of control. Stringent requirements prescribe blowout prevention equipment which must be installed on each drilling well. Technical improvements are constantly being made on this type of equipment, and very rarely does a drilling well go out of control. Out of the 6,300 wells drilled on Federal offshore leases, there have been only 15 blowouts during drilling; 12 of the 15 were gas blowouts which caused no pollution. In the three remaining blowouts, two were fired to minimize pollution; the other well was brought under control in 15 minutes by the blowout preventer. PLUGGING AND ABANDONMENT OF WELLS Not all wells drilled on Federal leases are completed for production. Thousands of wells prove to be dry holes; that is, no oil or gas is discovered. These wells must be plugged and pipe and casing cut off below the ocean floor, guaranteeing a clean floor for the fishermen. Stringent requirements are in effect and close supervision of abandonments are made by Department engineers and technicians. SUBSURFACE SAFETY DEVICES An important piece of equipment in an offshore producing well is the subsurface safety device. This device is a fail-safe mechanical instrument located inside the well tubing below the surface of the ocean floor that will automatically shut-in the well if anything happens to the equipment on the well above. This prevents a loss or waste of the oil or gas and the danger of escaping hydrocarbons. The Department requires automatic subsurface and surface safety devices on all of its Federal lease operations. As with the blowout prevention measures, these safety devices minimize the dangers to the living resources. CONTROL OF POLLUTION Pollution of the oceans by escaping oil cannot be tolerated. Strict requirements and supervision are in effect on the Federal offshore leases. Careful inspections of offshore producing facilities are continually conducted by Department technicians in conjunction with strict inspection programs by the oil companies. DRILLING AND PRODUCING METHODS Oil companies compete by seeking better processes, better products, and better ways to move, store, and handle crude oil and products. Economic progress in the highly competitive petroleum industry is achieved to a large extent by finding new and better ways to carry out the many jobs necessary to produce oil and gas. Of particular interest to the fishermen, boat enthusiasts, and others in New England is the possibility of future oil and gas operations on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf. Certainly large reserves off the East Coast would be strategically located to supply the vast domestic and industrial requirements for gas on the Atlantic Seaboard, which could greatly expand if the area were freed of its dependence on pipeline gas from the Southwest. It seems improbable at the present rates of development that there will be a lease sale and test drilling for oil and gas in the Atlantic Ocean in less than 4 to 6 years. Drilling equipment will consist of floating or moveable-type rigs. This permits drilling of wells with only temporary use of the water surface. If oil or gas is discovered in paying quantities in an area such as on Georges Bank, additional oil and gas leasing, drilling, and production will proceed cautiously. Judging from developments in other areas, fixed, permanent platforms will be installed, designed so that a large number of wells may be drilled directionally from each platform. There are two 60-well platforms off California on State lands. Economics will dictate that these expensive platforms be spaced as widely apart as feasible. The distances between platforms would depend to a great extent on the depth of the oil producing formation. For example, if the producing formation were at a depth of 8,000 feet, the distance between platforms would probably be 2 miles or more; for production from a depth of 10,000 feet, the distance could be 3 miles or more. The use of multiwell platforms provides maximum utilization of a very small surface area to develop a very large subsurface area, and because of the spacing, causes minimal interference with navigation and fishing. UNDERWATER COMPLETIONS As offshore exploration progresses into greater depths, problems of drilling and production multiply. The pattern of leasing in new areas has been that the shallowest water areas are leased first, progressing slowly into deeper water. Experimentation in underwater completion techniques and equipment is being conducted now in the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean; the objective is to permit the producing wellheads to be located on the ocean floor. At the present time there are only 3 producing underwater completions among the 3,600 producing wells on the Outer Continental Shelf. However, many wells have been capped on the ocean floor, temporarily awaiting decision to either abandon or put into production. We can foresee that problems involving the entanglement of trawl nets will have to be closely examined if and when oil or gas should be discovered off New England. The oil companies themselves will be looking for ways to avoid loss or damage to their submerged equipment. BURIAL OF PIPELINES Pipelines which bring oil and gas to shore or to central platforms must be installed so they do not unduly obstruct other use of the area. Each area of oil production offshore exhibits its own problems as to pipelining. Burial of pipelines is required generally, but a waiver of this requirement may be granted, subject to the condition that the operator demonstrate within a specified time after installation that the line is not a hazard to fishing operations. Our experience has been that in most areas the lines bury themselves, wholly or partially, in such a manner that they have not been a problem for fishermen. COOPERATIVE PLANNING Recognition of oil and fishing industry problems in the Gulf of Mexico has resulted in the formation of a Fishing Industry Advisory Committee advisory to the Oil and Gas Supervisor. If geophysical operations, pollution, or any other aspect of offshore operations present a major problem, a subcommittee will recommend the establishment of a specialized group to find a solution. The Fishing Industry Advisory Committee is a permanent body, whereas each subcommittee is regarded as only semi-permanent pending solution of the assigned problem. The idea behind the small specialized group is that local problems can be resolved by the people directly involved. It is our intention to identify problems as they arise and solve them before they become insurmountable. Communication between the agencies, fishing industry and oil industry helps to proclude unilateral establishment of procedures or practices which are unacceptable to another agency or group. Solutions must necessarily evolve through people who understand the problems and are aware of related difficulties. The complexity of the areas of conflict is decreased by mutual understanding and respect. Thus, in an atmosphere of give and take, it is possible to effect full development of our resources to the benefit of everyone. CONCLUSION The exploration for oil and gas is now going on in several large regions of the Outer Continental Shelf where fishing is a major industry and oil and gas are being produced in the Gulf of Mexico, a large OCS region where fishing is a major industry. Multiple use of OCS lands and the development of several resources have proved to be compatible. Experience and procedures for the resolution of operating problems can be adapted to new areas such as New England. Lines of responsibility within the Department of the Interior for communication and consultation between affected Bureaus have already been formalized. A specified office will act for both the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries and Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife in the New England area in dealings on OCS matters with the Geological Survey and Bureau of Land Management. The responsible officers of Survey and the Bureau have been specified. Additional steps are being considered for implementation in New England as the needs arise; these can be outlined as follows: It is contemplated that through the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries a suitable system for monitoring explosive devices, if used, will be instituted and BCF will consult with representatives of the fishing industry and State fishery agencies on its constitution and operations. Further, requirements for necessary monitoring of explosive devices will be incorporated by the Geological Survey in exploration permits such as State agencies require on the West Coast. The industrial trend is toward the greater use of nonexplosive devices and this trend will be fostered by the Geological Survey by not approving the use of explosives when an alternative method will give the needed information. The Department urges interested parties in New England to consider ways and means of forming a regional organization to deal with operating problems, if and when commercial oil and gas fields are developed. Such an organization might be set up as a committee including the several fishing interests, State agencies, and oceanographic scientists and marine engineers of the region. Technical subcommittees, such as those formed from time to time on the Gulf Coast, could be set up to deal with specific problems as they arise. Mr. LENNON. Without objection it will be included in the record. Mr. MARSHALL. Thank you. May I complete, sir? Mr. LENNON. I will have to ask you, sir, to insert in the record the balance of any statement that you may have. Mr. MARSHALL. I would like to point out a correction to yesterday's testimony if I may, sir. Mr. LENNON. You may furnish those for the record. I am sorry but I must accommodate the other witness and I have to do it in the period of 10 minutes. He was promised yesterday he would be heard this morning at 11 o'clock and I will have to ask you to furnish for the record any additional statement or clarification of your remarks. I regret that. (The information mentioned follows:) Re H.R. 11584, Hearing Record. Congressman ALTON LENNON, Chairman, CAMBRIDGE, MASS., April 21, 1968. House Subcommittee on Oceanography, House Office Building, DEAR MR. LENNON: Thank you for the opportunity to add to my prepared statement for the 9-10 April hearings on H.R. 11584, the Marine Sanctuaries Study Bill. Time restrictions prevented me from making the following points: 1. Much of the discussion on 9 April was directed to possible overlapping of the studies to be made under H.R. 11584 and H.R. 25: Section 13b of H.R. 25 defines the term "estuary" as an area "within which the sea water is measurably diluted with fresh water from land drainage". This hardly seems to include Georges Bank as an estuary. 2. The statement by Dr. Milner Shaefer, Science Advisor to Secretary Udall, when he met with the New England Fisheries and Conservation Committee in Boston on 12 December 1967, a copy of which I included with my statement, says, in the last paragraph on page 7, that "it seems improbable at the present rates of development that there will be a lease sale or test drilling for oil and gas in the Atlantic Ocean in less than 4 to 6 years." On this basis it does not appear that the moratorium called for in H.R. 11584 would harm the industry, and would provide ample time for a really consciencious study to develop failsafe technology to protect the present uses of Georges Bank as well as shoreward areas from destruction due to overly hasty and unplanned development. 3. Dr. Shaefer's statement, in the final paragraph, urged the formation of a regional grass roots committee. In actuality we have such a committee in New England Fisheries and Conservation Committee, however the difficulty lies in the fact that the committee can't get anyone sincerely interested in putting it to work. Commissioner of Natural Resources, Mr. Yasi, who is a member of this committee, noted in his statement that even his Department can't participate in advance planning by Department of Interior for waters of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and he is notified only after contracts are signed. Perhaps your Committee can suggest how our committee can be given the tools it needs to fulfill its needed role. We are not only eager to do the job, but our services are also free. 4. Another of the first day's problems was that of the delay between the enactment of a bill and its appropriation: surely the expertise of your Committee, when you mark the bill up, can overcome this minor obstacle. 5. With respect to the problem of financing the studies called for in H.R. 11584, there are billions of dollars spent by the petroleum industry on research annually. The relatively small amount of "seed money" to be spent to get an intensive, coordinated, industry wide study started, using the existing knowledge of the Department of Interior and the safeguards implied by having a local citizens advisory group, should result in highly useful results. Very truly yours, ROGER MARSHALL. Mr. LENNON. Now the Chair recognizes Dr. Galler and I will say to the gentleman it is terrible to be under pressure as we all are, but we have to move according to our schedule. Dr. Galler, how long will it take you to make your statement? STATEMENT OF DR. SIDNEY R. GALLER, ASSISTANT SECRETARY (SCIENCE); ACCOMPANIED BY DR. I. EUGENE WALLEN, HEAD, OFFICE OF OCEANOGRAPHY AND LIMNOLOGY, SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION Dr. GALLER. I hope, sir, in less than 10 minutes. Mr. LENNON. It will have to be in less than 10 minutes. Dr. GALLER. Thank you, sir. Mr. Chairman, I have asked that Dr. Wallen join me. Mr. LENNON. Thank you. We are delighted to have you gentlemen. Go right ahead, doctor. Dr. GALLER. Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of this subcommittee, it is always a pleasure and a privilege to appear before you, especially as a subcommittee that has played such a key role in focusing attention on our country's needs in the field of oceanographic research and development. I don't proposed to read the statement, Mr. Chairman, but rather to suggest that it be inserted in the record. There are a few highlights that I would like to discuss, if I may. Essentially the proposed legislation for the establishment of marine sanctuaries will have the following benefits: First, it will provide ecological baselines against which to compare those marine and aquatic areas that are subject to man's environmental modification. Second, it would tend to preserve major types of unmodified habitats for research and education. Third, it would provide continuing opportunities for marine wilderness recreation, inherent in which there is an element of public education. And, fourth, marine sanctuaries could provide an important means for protecting and facilitating the reproduction and growth of many important species of aquatic organisms during the critical periods of their juvenile existence. I should say, Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, in our view marine sanctuaries would benefit all sectors of the community, especially industry and those agencies, Federal, State, and local, that are responsible for developing projects that involve major manipulations of the environment. All too frequently we ascribe deleterious effects occurring in the marine, estuarine and fresh water environments to specific actions taken by local industrial or public agency groups and we ascribe these deleterious effects very frequently in the absence of full factual information. The setting aside of marine sanctuaries would be in a sense the establishment of a biological bureau of marine standards of "normal" conditions against which scientists and engineers could assess the effects of man's modification of the environment. Also, Mr. Chairman, while consideration is given to estuaries contiguous to the continental United States I urge that we do not forget the need for so-called marine sanctuaries in the island possessions and trust territories of the United States. The coral atolls and the lagoons of the tropics serve equivalent functions to those of estuaries as nursery grounds and as feeding grounds for oceanic fishes and, Mr. Chairman, the sad facts are that we know less about our tropical marine resources |