The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine have established a committee to provide ongoing environmental science and assessment assistance to the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Under an initial 3-year contract, the group will meet 2-3 times/year and review research priorities annually, BOEM Science Advisor William Y. Brown said at its first public meeting on Dec. 8.
"The goal is for BOEM to have a level of science second-to-none in the world," Brown said. The US Department of the Interior agency also needs to rely more on independent advice to address its very broad mission, he said. NASEM, which was established under a congressional charter signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, has supplied such information to the US government ever since.
The difference is that instead of closely examining a specific question at an agency's request, standing committees now will be able to respond more quickly as issues emerge.
"We need to draw more on a wide range of disciplines, some of which aren't immediately apparent," Brown said. "The science we do informs policy, but we're prepared to fund research on broader topics. The committee's standing status should make it faster on its feet."
The Committee on Offshore Science and Assessment will convene experts from academia, industry, and other organizations to provide independent technical input initially to BOEM's environmental studies and assessment programs, and potentially other efforts.
It will try to facilitate stakeholder discussions of controversial issues, enhance understanding of developments in related science and technology fields, and develop National Research Council studies on specific topics.
More importantly, it will provide a venue for BOEM's staff to exchange information with other federal agencies' specialists and help the agency define its unique interagency process role. Finally, the committee will facilitate exchanges of information and lessons learned with staff members from other world-class applied environmental studies and assessment programs.
Already works with others
"Science for informed decisions is what this is all about," explained Rodney E. Cluck, BOEM's environmental science chief. The agency already interacts with others in the federal government, including the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, National Aeronautics & Space Administration, and US Fish & Wildlife Service. "We achieve more working together," Cluck said.
Work involves not just environmental, but also social sciences, noted Jill Lewandoski, environmental assessment chief. The goal is not to stop activity, but identify its impacts so they can be mitigated, she said. Initiatives include a fresh look at categorical exclusions for instances where a full National Environmental Policy Act analysis isn't necessary.
BOEM also wants to identify sensitive areas for possible exclusion or mitigation sooner "to give our industry partners predictability," Lewandoski said.
