National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Npdes Permitting For Eastern Gulf Of Mexico Offshore Oil And Gas Extraction Msflal PDF Download

Continental Shelf Associates, Inc. (CSA) was contracted to conduct a three-year study of the environmental and health related impacts of produced water and sand discharges from oil and gas operations. Data on naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM), heavy metals, and hydrocarbons in water, sediment, and biota will be collected and evaluated. Health related impacts will be studied through field collections and analyses of commercially- and recreationally-important fish and shellfish tissues. Additionally, information on seafood catch, consumption, and use patterns for the Gulf of Mexico will be gathered and analyzed. The facilities to be studied will include both offshore and coastal facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. Coastal sites will be additionally studied to determine ecological recovery of impacted wetland and open bay areas. The economic impact of existing and proposed effluent federal and state regulations will also be evaluated. The primary objectives of the project are to increase the base of scientific knowledge concerning (1) the fate and environmental effects of organics, trace metals, and NORM in water, sediment, and biota near several offshore oil and gas facilities; (2) the characteristics of produced water and produced sand discharges as they pertain to organics, trace metals, and NORM variably found in association with the discharges; (3) the recovery of four terminated produced water discharge sites located in wetland and high-energy open bay sites of coastal Louisiana and Texas; (4) the economic and energy supply impacts of existing and anticipated federal and state offshore and coastal discharge regulations; and (5) the catch, consumption and human use patterns of seafood species collected from coastal and offshore waters. Accomplishments for this period are described.