Exploration and Production of Hydrocarbon Resources in Coastal Alabama and Mississippi. Executive Summary

摘要

An analysis has been undertaken of the physical biological and socioeconomic effects of hydrocarbon exploration and production activities in coastal Alabama and Mississippi and adjacent Federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The analysis consists of two parts: effects and generic unit actions, and cumulative effects of postulated hydrocarbon-related activities in the region over the next 30 years. Four subregions are considered in the analysis: the forested and seasonally-flooded Mobile-Tensaw River Delta, the shallow coastal estuaries of Mobile Bay and Mississippi Sound, and the Alabama and Mississippi state waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The main short-term adverse environmental effects would be turbidity resulting from well site and pipeline construction activities, and the temporary loss of habitat and biological productivity during pipeline construction and during the drilling period at well sites that are eventually abandoned as dry holes.