Protection of Marine Archaeological Resources

The Department of the Interior (the Department or DOI), acting through the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), is finalizing regulatory amendments to require lessees and operators to submit an archaeological report with any oil and gas exploration or development plan they submit to BOEM for approval of proposed activities on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The previous regulations required an archaeological report only if the plan covered an area that a BOEM Regional Director had "reason to believe" may have contained an archaeological resource. This final rule will increase the protection of archaeological resources in compliance with section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) by acknowledging that there is a greater likelihood that such resources exist, thereby increasing the likelihood that these resources will be located and identified before they can be inadvertently damaged by an OCS operator. This rule defines the minimum level of survey information necessary to support the conclusions in the archaeological report, the procedures for reporting possible archaeological resources and continuing operations when a possible resource is present, and what to do if an unanticipated archaeological resource is discovered during operations.