Government Accountability Office (GAO) to Minerals Management Service: Beef up Guidelines for Evaluating Environmental Impacts of Oil and Gas Production in Alaska's North Aleutians Where Resources May Be 'Substantial'

摘要

In its Alaska Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) regional office, the Department of Interior's (DOI's) Minerals Management Service (MMS) is falling short in its implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Practices there have hindered staff's "ability to complete sound environmental analyses" with regard to possible oil and gas exploration and production in the North Aleutian Basin, GAO concluded in a recent performance audit. "Although MMS has, over the years, faced delays that were largely out of its control, it can control the quality and integrity of its environmental analyses," GAO pressed. "Comprehensive, detailed NEPA guidance, along with full implementation of its 2008 information-sharing policy, could strengthen MMS's NEPA analyses and enhance the agency's credibility among stakeholders, as it strives to achieve balance between oil and gas development and environmental protection."