Regional Pipeline Environmental Assessment Record: An Aggregate Analysis of Major Areas of Pipeline Concern and Impact on the Outer Continental Shelf (Gulf of Mexico)

摘要

Oil and gas pipeline activities on the Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) affect a wide range of living and nonliving environmental variables (i.e., water, biologically sensitive areas, and food-web relations). These industrial activities have been increasing steadily over the past 20 years. Much of the information included herein pertains to a description of the existing environment for offshore Louisiana and Texas and an analysis of potential pipeline proposals and alternatives. The document is not as complete as an environmental impact statement (EIS) but it is sufficient in scope to consider the analysis of impacts of the majority of pipeline activities occurring in the northern and western Gulf of Mexico OCS. This report will be useful in evaluating pipeline impacts on the regional environment in the future. Rather than treating each pipeline application extensively, the information included herein will be referenced, thereby reducing the paperwork involved in environmental analysis.