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: The Federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Marine Mineral (e.g. sand and gravel) Lease Areas layer is maintained by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), part of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Each lease area polygon defines an area 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), 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 active, completed, expired, and proposed lease areas under BOEM's purview. Attribution consists of OCS lease number, state, project ID, volume of material allocated, borrow area ID, leases status, and administrative chronology of the lease term (e.g. execution and expiration dates). Revisions to this dataset are made on a regular basis by BOEM staff to reflect the current status of OCS marine mineral leasing activity.
Description: Dredge area polygons represent the approximate lateral extent of where dredging of outer continental shelf (OCS) sediment has occurred within authorized OCS 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 (e.g. sediment) is typically transported via pipeline and deposited along the shoreline of a 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), 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 part by or authorized by the Federal government. This dataset is a collection of dredge areas under BOEM's purview. Attribution consists of state, OCS lease number, project ID, borrow area ID, construction (dredging) start and end dates, dredged volume, and delineation quality; see attribute definitions for full explanations. This dataset will be updated as new data are received from lessees.
Description: The Shore Placement Areas feature class contains polygons representing approximate 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. Attribution consists of OCS lease number, project ID, Shore ID (placement area location or beach name), placement (construction) start and end dates, placement volume, the number of linear miles of coastline restored, and supplemental comments that provide additional context regarding the placement/construction event. 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.
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: The Sand Resource layer contains delineations of areas on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and (if available) nearshore areas where there is some likelihood that a usable sand resource exists. The resources depicted in this feature class were identified and characterized during various reconnaissance- and design-level studies where 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, as least in part, to evaluate OCS sand resources. Resource attribution consists of OCS study area ID, location (state), area ID (e.g. shoal X), approximate areal extent, estimated volume, generalized (e.g. composite) sediment properties (mean grain size, %sand, %gravel, %fines etc.), and resource evaluation stage (see attribute definition for detailed explanation). Delineations are not guaranteed to be exact and mainly consist of approximate delineations based on interpretations of data, drawings, and or descriptions found in related study 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 deemed suitable for a given project (e.g. beach restoration), 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 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. This dataset and its related tables will be updated periodically as new and existing data are incorporated in to the MMIS geodatabase.
Description: Coastal restoration, beach nourishment, and habitat reconstruction are crucial to mitigate future coastal erosion, land loss, flooding, and storm damage along the US Atlantic coast. The success of long-term effort partially 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 or sensitive areas (e.g. archaeological sites, protected habitat, etc.). Since the use of OCS sediment resources is authorized by the BOEM through its Marine Minerals Program, the bureau is implementing measures to help safeguard the most significant OCS sediment resources, reduce multiple use conflicts, minimize interference with existing leases (e.g. renewable energy) and rights-of-way (e.g. submerged infrastructure, shipping lanes, military operations, etc.), and help avoid sensitive areas (e.g. archaeological sites, protected habitat). The Atlantic Sand Aliquots dataset contains Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) block aliquots (1/16th of OCS protraction grid block) in the BOEM Atlantic Ocean Region that lie at least partially within a 1 statute mile buffer of where OCS sand resources have been identified through reconnaissance and/or design-level studies. During the planning process, entities may reference the aliquot attributes provided in this dataset to inquire about specific resources within those areas. In doing so, the BOEM MMP can continue to serve as an effective steward of our OCS resources. This dataset will be updated as new information about OCS sand resources is incorporated into the Marine Minerals Information System (MMIS).
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 Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) block outlines in ESRI ArcGIS shapefile format for the BOEM Gulf of Mexico Region that contain identified mineral resources and areas of sediment disposal managed by the BOEM's 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 Region. 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 mineral resources, like upland sources, are extremely scarce where most needed. Additionally, some areas of these relatively small offshore mineral 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 Minerals Program, the bureau is implementing measures 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 block attributes provided in this dataset to inquire about specific resources within those areas. As new information becomes available, blocks designated as significant sediment resource areas will be updated. In doing so, the BOEM MMP can continue to serve as an effective steward of our OCS resources. For more information on how BOEM manages multiple uses on the OCS or to get the most up to date information on official OCS block designations as significant sediment resource areas, visit https://www.boem.gov/marine-minerals/multiple-uses-ocs.