The oil people began visiting us. Some were frankly astonished when made aware of the present valuable fisheries resources and the frenzy of fishing activity in the area. That is a rather startling statement because I would assume that they had been in touch with the Department of the Interior, particularly the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, and had been fully informed of the value of fishing activities in the area and the activity. They should not have to go to New England for that. They agreed that there should be open lines of communication between each of us Meaning the people of New England and the oil industry— and Interior. The Secretary invited Governor Volpe and myself to visit with him on the problem. We had an interesting and productive meeting. Within a very short time he appointed a member of his staff as coordinator and decreed that there would be a policy established immediately which would provide for an interbureau review before issuing exploratory permits or leases. I will ask you at that point, does the Department of the Interior issue exploratory permits before it comes to the question of lease? Mr. STANDLEY. Yes, sir. Mr. LENNON. Do you have a copy of the exploratory permit that you can furnish for the record? Mr. STANDLEY. I can obtain one. Mr. LENNON. We ask unanimous consent that that be included in the hearing record for today. (The document follows:) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Washington, D.C. CONTINENTAL OIL COMPANY, Oklahoma City, Okla., January 23, 1968. (Attention: Mr. Harry Dupont, Oil and Gas Supervisor, Eastern Region). DEAR SIR: The Continental Oil Company, acting as coordinator for the several companies listed on attached Exhibit A, hereby requests permission to do a "Vibroseis" reflection seismic survey on the Continental Shelf of the Atlantic Ocean from Cape Sable to Cape Kennedy (Maine to Florida). Pertinent information regarding this survey is as follows: Price Contractor: Delta Exploration Company, Inc., 206 Rankin Street, Jackson, Mississippi 39207. Approximate Mileage: 5,000 Miles. Starting Date: Approximately March 1, 1968. Completion Date: Approximately October 1, 1968. Motor Vessels: Geophysical Boat: Bull Tide. U.S. Registry No. 506977. Gross Tonnage: 189. Net Tonnage: 128. Geophysical Boat: Mediterranean Seal. U.S. Registry No. 590-848. Gross Tonnage: 248.85. Net Tonnage: 169.00. Supply Boat: Seal II. U.S. Registry No. 511904. Gross Tonnage: 101.48. Net Tonnage: 69.00. Navigation: Lorac Service Corporation or Offshore Raydist, Inc. Contract Supervisor: A. P. Fatherree, Delta Exploration Company, Inc., 8125 Westglen Dr., Houston, Texas 77042. Coordinator: C. G. Heil, Continental Oil Company, National Foundation Life Bldg., 3535 NW 58th Street, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73112. We are attaching four copies of the program map indicating line locations and numbers. A weekly operation report will be submitted to your office by Delta Exploration Company, Inc., showing exactly which lines are to be worked during the coming week. Advantages of the "Vibroseis" system for this type survey were demonstrated during a similar operation in 1967. Of utmost importance was, and will be, a lack of damage to marine life. We would welcome a visit from you or members of your staff during the course of this operation if a permit is granted. We would also welcome interested conservation representatives. Thank you for your consideration of this matter. Yours very truly, C. G. HEIL, Division Geophysicist. EXHIBIT A Current list of companies participating in the 1968 Atlantic Offshore Program with Continental Oil Company as Chairman of the Participants Committee: We anticipate several additional companies will be participating members prior to commencement date of March 1, 1968. A final list of participating companies will be forwarded after this date. Re OCS permit E 1–68. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Mr. C. G. HEIL, Division Geophysicist, Continental Oil Co., Oklahoma City, Okla. DEAR MR. HEIL: Your letter of January 23 requests authorization for Continental Oil Company, on behalf of a 14-company combine, to conduct a reflection seismic survey using the "Vibroseis" system on the Continental Shelf of the Atlantic Ocean from Cape Sable to Cape Kennedy (Maine to Florida) along the lines designated on the program map (identified as Exhibit "B" 8-10-67) received with your letter. The survey is to be conducted by Delta Exploration Company, Inc., under contract from the combine and under your supervision and control. The Outer Continental Shelf area off Florida, with which State the Department of the Interior has entered into a cooperative agreement, is under the jurisdiction of the Regional Oil and Gas Supervisor of our Gulf Coast Region. Accordingly, you should contact our New Orleans office with regard to the work off Florida. The Department also has a cooperative agreement with the State of Georgia under which the requirements of the regulations of its State Mineral Leasing Commission governing the methods and inspection of and restrictions upon geological and geophysical explorations in the submerged lands of the State of Georgia. Accordingly, for work off Georgia, you should obtain an exploration permit from the following agency: State Mineral Leasing Commission, Department of Mines, 19 Hunter Street, S.W., Atlanta, Georgia 30303 (Dr. A. S. Furcron, Director). I understand that Georgia rules and regulations require that a technician from the State Game and Fish Commission be requested to be on board at all times offshore shooting is being done. As no shooting is planned, it appears possible that Dr. Furcron may be able to waive this requirement. Your program, as to the lines shown on Exhibit "B" in the Outer Continental Shelf area located seaward of the submerged lands of the respective states north of Florida, is approved for the period March 1 to October 1, 1968, subject to the following conditions: 1. That you furnish reports of operations completed and notices of your expected areas of operations to appropriate offices of the Eastern Sea Frontier, Coast Guard, Bureau of Commercial Fisheries and to this office as specified on the enclosed sheets (Enclosures I and II). 2. That prior to conducting operations off Georgia, you furnish this office with a copy of the permit from the State Mineral Leasing Commission or a statement as to any requirements made by that Commission together with your stipulation agreeing to comply with such requirements. 98-753 0-68—11 3. That this approval may be suspended or revoked by this office at any time for failure to comply with the above requirements or should circumstances develop which would warrant such action. We appreciate your invitation for us and interested conservation representatives to visit the operations. We shall contact you in the event we desire to have an observer on board from the Geological Survey or the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries during portions of the operations. Georges Bank, where fishing operations are conducted during all seasons of the year, is considered by many to be one of the prime fishing areas in the world, and the New England fishermen are concerned with respect to any operations which may be harmful to aquatic life or interfere with their operations. For this reason, we suggest that you contact Mr. Hugh F. O'Rourke, Chairman, New England Fisheries and Conservation Committee, 102 Administration Building, Fish Pier, Boston, Massachusetts 02210, a few weeks before you expect to reach the Georges Bank area, advise him as to your plans in general and as to the Georges Bank area in particular, and extend to him an invitation for a member of his committee or of the fishing industry to visit your operations. This would afford the fishing industry an opportunity to observe that no explosives are being used. We have made arrangements for the Regional Directors of the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries to inform the fishing industry regarding your proposed areas of operations in order that there may be minimum interference between the fishing and geophysical operations. During the period your operations are being conducted in the Georges Bank area, Mr. John Gharrett, the Regional Director at Gloucester, should be informed by telephone or telegram of any substantial change in plans as to the expected area of operations reported in your notices. We are furnishing copies of your program map to the Commander, Eastern Sea Frontier and the two Regional Directors of the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries shown on Enclosure II. The remaining copy is being retained for our files. At or by the time you submit your first notice, please send a copy of the map, or the portion covering the areas under their jurisdiction, to the three Coast Guard District offices involved. Please keep this office informed as to any additional companies participating in the program. Sincerely yours, H. A. DUPONT, Regional Oil and Gas Supervisor, Eastern Region. P.S.-New Orleans: Please advise as to the date you issue or have issued permit for the portion of the program off Florida. ENCLOSURE I H.A.D. Notices are to be sent to the Commander, Eastern Sea Frontier, with copies to the Regional Oil and Gas Supervisor, U.S. Geological Survey, and to appropriate offices of the U.S. Coast Guard and Bureau of Commercial Fisheries as shown on the attached sheet (Enclosure II), as follows: 1. To be sent a few days prior to commencement of operations: Date you expect to commence operations and expected area of operations, including line numbers, during first 10 days for each of the two geophysical boats. 2. To be sent at the end of successive periods not exceeding 1 week each while operating in Areas 1, 2 and 3 (also shown on map as C, B and A) and at the end of successive periods not exceeding 3 days each while operating in Area 4 (also shown at D): Report on lines or portions of lines, including approximate mileage, run by each of the two geophysical boats subsequent to each preceding report and containing notice of your expected area and lines of operations for the next 10 days following the date of your report. This reporting procedure may be modified as necessary at the discretion of the Regional Oil and Gas Supervisor. ENCLOSURE II Commander, Eastern Sea Frontier, United States Navy, 90 Church Street, New York, New York 10007. Commander, 7th Coast Guard District, U.S. Coast Guard, 150 S. E. 3rd Avenue, Miami, Florida 33131, (Florida to South Carolina). Commander, 5th Coast Guard District, U.S. Coast Guard, Custom House, Norfolk, Virginia 23514, (North Carolina to Maryland). Commander, 3rd Coast Guard District, U.S. Coast Guard, Custom House, New York, New York 10004, (Delaware to point in Massachusetts). Commander, 1st Coast Guard District, U.S. Coast Guard, Custom House, Boston, Massachusetts 02109, (Massachusetts to Maine). Regional Director, Region 2, Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, Federal Office Building, 144 First Avenue, St. Petersburg, Florida 33701, Telephone—A.C. 813– 898-0846 Ext. 3141, (Florida to North Carolina). Regional Director, Region 3, Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, Federal Building, 14 Elm Street, Gloucester, Massachusetts 01930, Telephone-A.C. 617-281-0640, (Virginia to Maine). Regional Oil and Gas Supervisor, Eastern Region, U.S. Geological Survey, Telephone A.C. 202-343-4528, 3221 GSA Building, Washington, D.C. 20242. Mr. LENNON. Then the Director of the Department of Natural Resources said: I congratulate Interior and the Secretary for this action. It was particularly appreciated for the reason that it indicated an awareness that this area must be managed on a basis quite different from many other offshore and shelf areas. We requested more, however. It was felt that contiguous states should have a review of applications and conditions upon which permits would be issued. We were looking for safeguards— Here is the guts— This was the granted— Meaning it was not granted by the Interior I still do not understand why. Our assistance could be helpful. We feel our assistance in making these decisions, the information we could furnish could be helpful. I would think so, too. Next He says, and here is the crux of this thing— we were guaranteed that we would be kept informed of the status of permits. And I am sure he is talking about permits for exploration as well as subsequent leases. I have received a single telephone call. The day the permit was issued. That is the dialog. That is the communication. That is the lack of understanding. It is anything but understanding. Finally After this experience Interior listed a number of safeguards they would require in the future and these have been helpful. Now, on these safeguards that Interior finally agreed to and I would like you to put them in the record-I am sure that there must be some safeguards. Why was it necessary to have the relationship between the Federal Government and the several States? (The information follows:) Information which explains the relations between oil and gas exploration and development and fishery resources is included in a paper which the Department prepared for release to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the New England Fisheries and Conservation Committee in December 1967. A copy of this paper is included for the record. Also included is a memorandum explaining procedures concerning notification of New England fishery interests when exploration applications are received and a paper specifying safeguards to be followed when explorations using explosives are carried out. (We note, however, that there are no outstanding requests for use of explosives in the New England area. The Department does not expect such requests will be received because of the advancements in technology which allow geophysical information to be obtained with other types of shock devices which are not harmful to aquatic life). The Bureau of the Department which are directly involved in administration of the Outer Continental Shelf resources are the U.S. Geological Survey, the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries. Coordination procedures which are in effect concerning explorations are as follows: Whenever an application for exploration is received by the Geological Survey, the appropriate office of the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries is notified of the request and in most instances receives a copy of the application. The local officials of the fishing industry are notified of the application by the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries. The Bureau of Commercial Fisheries then discusses the application with the Geological Survey and a permit is then drawn up by the Geological Survey including whatever stipulations have been recommended by the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries. These recomendations have almost always included a requirement for having a qualified fisheries observer on board the seismic vessels during operations. This observer has authority to recommend cessation or movement of seismic activities if danger to fish resources is imminent. OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN RELATION TO FISHERY RESOURCES IN THE GEORGES BANK AREA The relationships between the Federal Government and the coastal States regarding ownership of the minerals on the Continental Shelf are established by the Submerged Lands Act of May 22, 1953 (43 U.S.C. 1301-1315), the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act of August 7, 1953 (43 U.S.C. 1331-1343), and subsequent agreements and court decisions interpreting their provisions. The Submerged Lands Act granted the coastal States title to the submerged lands seaward of their coasts to a distance of 3 geographical miles in the case of the Atlantic, Pacific and most Gulf States, and up to 3 marine leagues into the Gulf of Mexico for Texas and Florida. The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act declared that submerged lands lying seaward of those lands granted the States are subject to the jurisdiction, control, and power of disposition of the Federal Government. Congress has long had a policy of multiple use of Federal lands. The policy was founded on the premise that lands of the United States should provide the maximum benefits to the maximum number of people. Although the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act was passed in order to promote and encourage mineral development of shelf lands, it provides that "the right to navigation and fishing therein shall not be affected." The Department of the Interior administers its responsibilities under this Act by adhering strictly to this guideline of multiple use. Bureaus of equal level function under separate Assistant Secretaries for Land Management, Mineral Resources, and Fish and Wildlife; each provides the Secretary with data and consultation necessary to properly and equitably administer the Act. The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act provides for the granting of mineral exploration and exploitation rights. The Secretary of the Interior is authorized by Section 8 of the Act to grant to qualified persons offering the highest cash bonuses on the basis of competitive bidding, leases for oil and gas, sulphur, and other minerals. A total of 1,277 such leases have been issued. Section 6 of the Act authorizes maintenance of certain mineral leases covering OCS lands which had been issued by a State prior to the effective date of the Act. A large number of these leases off the Gulf Coast are being so maintained. The Act also provides for geological and geophysical explorations. Section 11 specifies that any agency of the United States and any person authorized by the Secretary may conduct such explorations in the Outer Continental Shelf which do not interfere with or endanger actual operations under any lease issued or maintained pursuant to the Act, and which are not unduly harmful to aquatic life in such area. Numerous explorations have been conducted off all of the coastal States except Hawaii under permits issued by the Regional Oil and Gas Supervisors of the Geological Survey under delegations of authority from the Secretary. Some of these explorations have extended hundreds of miles seaward to the |