OKALOOSA ISLAND —A public hearing on seismic surveying in the Gulf of Mexico drew little controversy from the 10-member audience.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management hosted the meeting Tuesday night to begin a long process of developing an Environmental Impact Statement, an assessment of the effects an activity such as seismic surveying has on the environment.
No specific plans were presented at the meeting, only an introduction to the EIS process and seismic surveying.
The Ramada Plaza Beach Resort on Okaloosa Island was the second of seven stops along the Gulf Coast and in Washington, D.C., to get public comment. Once the hearings are complete, a first draft of the EIS will be developed and hearings will be scheduled again.
“We want to make sure we hear from everybody,” said Gary Goeke, the BOEM’s regional assessment section chief.
After the next round of hearings, a final EIS will be drawn up. A decision on how best to conduct the survey is tentatively scheduled for 2015.
Seismic surveying uses sound waves to map the surface and subsurface of the ocean floor. A survey could identify possible sea floor hazards, find mineral resources or sensitive areas and obtain data for oil and gas production, Goeke said.
The EIS will look at the effects seismic surveying will have on marine organisms. Of the three people who spoke at Tuesday’s meeting, two disputed the idea that the surveying would have any ill effects to marine mammals.
Matthew L. Bognar, senior vice president of MCNV Marine North America, questioned the data the BOEM has used in the past to calculate the environmental effects of the sound waves.
The BOEM has used obsolete data that exaggerates the number of animals affected by the surveying, he said. The data simply comes up with incidental effects, he said.
“We just want the BOEM to use scientific data instead of voodoo,” Bognar said.
Eric Hamilton, associate director of the Florida Petroleum Council, said the surveys are key for safe, successful offshore drilling. He was concerned that the data BOEM uses will mean an overly restrictive EIS.
“We strongly believe the EIS should be based on scientific models,” Hamilton said.
Susan Forsyth, a board member of the Emerald Coast Chapter of the environmental group Surfrider Foundation, said seismic surveying is a baby step to offshore drilling. She said she and her group want to work with everyone to come up with better safety measures for offshore drilling.
Forsyth, who lives in Sandestin, said her personal anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was June 23, 2010, when blobs of oil began to wash onto her beach.
“If there was another oil spill today, it would not be handled any differently,” she said.
HAVE YOUR SAY: To submit comments, visit www.regulations.gov or email gomggeis@boem.gov. Remarks also can be mailed to Gary D. Goeke, Office of Environment (GM 623E), Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, 1201 Elmwood Park Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70123-2394.