Areas Under Restriction

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Areas Under Restriction for Oil and Gas Leasing 

I. Presidential Withdrawals

Under Section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. §1341, the President of the United States may, from time to time, withdraw from disposition any of the unleased lands of the Outer Continental Shelf. The existing Presidential withdrawals are as follows:

• Alaska Presidential Withdrawals:
  • Chukchi Sea and a Portion of Beaufort Sea Planning Areas; see Presidential Memorandum, dated December 20, 2016.
  • North Aleutian Basin Planning Area; see Presidential Memorandum, dated December 16, 2014.
  • Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area; see Presidential Memorandum, dated December 9, 2016, and Executive Order 13990, dated January 20, 2021.
  • Remaining Portion of Beaufort Sea Planning Area; see Presidential Memorandum, dated March 13, 2023.  
• Atlantic Presidential Withdrawals:
  • Atlantic Canyons; see Presidential Memorandum dated December 20, 2016. 
  • South Atlantic and Straits of Florida Planning Areas; see Presidential Memorandum, dated September 8, 2020. Withdrawn from oil and gas leasing from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2032.
  • North Carolina portion of the Mid-Atlantic Planning Area; see Presidential Memorandum, dated September 25, 2020. Withdrawn from oil and gas leasing from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2032.
• Gulf of Mexico Presidential Withdrawals:
  • Portions of the Central and Eastern Gulf of Mexico Planning Areas (area formerly designated by the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act); see Presidential Memorandum, dated September 8, 2020. Withdrawn from oil and gas leasing from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2032.

II. Acts of Congress

• Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 (GOMESA)
  The Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (P.L. 109-432) established restrictions on oil and gas leasing in a portion of the Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area and most of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico Planning Area and remained in effect through June 30, 2022. The September 8, 2020, Presidential Memorandum again withdrew this area from leasing through June 30, 2032. 

III. National Marine Sanctuaries

• National Marine Sanctuaries
  National Marine Sanctuaries (NMS) may be designated by the Department of Commerce pursuant to the National Marine Sanctuaries Act. For information and maps on specific NMSs, please see NOAA’s website at https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/.
  
  Pursuant to the Presidential Memorandum issued on July 14, 2008, any national marine sanctuary that was designated as of July 14, 2008, is withdrawn from oil and gas leasing for a time without specific expiration. Any NMS created or expanded after that date is not withdrawn from oil and gas leasing per se. Rules and regulations governing the designation and management of a specific national marine sanctuary may also restrict or prohibit certain activities within that sanctuary.

The following national marine sanctuaries are located on the OCS:

• Pacific NMS
  • NMS of American Samoa (designated 1986, expanded 2012)
  • Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale NMS (designated 1999)
  • Monterey Bay NMS (designated 1992, expanded 2008)
  • Channel Islands NMS (designated 1980, expanded 2007)
  • Olympic Coast NMS (designated 1994)
  • Cordell Bank NMS (designated 1989, expanded 2015)
  • Greater Farallones NMS (designated 1981, expanded 2015)
• Atlantic NMS
  • Gray’s Reef (designated 1981)
  • Monitor NMS (designated 1975)
  • Florida Keys NMS (designated 1990) 1990)
  • Stellwagen Bank NMS (designated 1992)
• Gulf of Mexico NMS
  • Flower Garden Banks NMS (designated 1991, expanded 2021)
  • Florida Keys NMS (designated 1990)  

IV. Other Restrictions

• Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge
  The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, signed into law December 2, 1980, created the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge by combining the Clarence Rhode National Wildlife Range, Hazen Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Nunivak Island National Wildlife Refuge, and lands withdrawn under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act on February 11, 1980. A portion of the refuge extends into Federal waters. For additional information on the refuge, click here.
   
• Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge
  President William H. Taft established the Aleutian Islands Reservation in 1913 (Executive Order 1733) as a breeding ground for native birds, propagation of reindeer and furbearers, and encouragement and development of fisheries. The Aleutian Islands Reservation was later renamed the Aleutian Islands National Wildlife Refuge, and then, in 1980 with passage of the ANILCA, the refuge became the Aleutian Islands Unit of the newly created Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. The act outlined five major purposes for this new refuge, with a primary purpose of conserving fish and wildlife populations and habitats in their natural diversity. A portion of the refuge extends into Federal waters. For additional information on the refuge, click here.
   
• Navassa Island National Wildlife Refuge
  The Island of Navassa became a U.S. insular area in October 1857, pursuant to the Guano Islands Act of 1856 (48 U.S.C. Ch. 8 §§ 1411-19). On September 2, 1999, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service established the Navassa Island Wildlife Refuge. For additional information on the refuge, click here.
   
• Rose Atoll National Wildlife Refuge.
  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service established the Rose Atoll National Wildlife Refuge on July 15, 1973, for the purpose of conserving and protecting fish and wildlife resources.  This 20-acre marine protected area is completely encompassed by the Rose Atoll Marine National Monument.
   
• Biscayne Bay National Park
  Biscayne Bay National Park was established as part of the National Park System under Public Law 96-287 (1980), and a portion of the park extends into the OCS. Pursuant to the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended (30 U.S.C. § 181), the park is withdrawn from leasing. For additional information on the park, click here.
   
• Phillip Burton Wilderness Buffer Zone
  Leases for exploration, development, or production activities are not permitted within 15 miles of the boundaries of the Phillip Burton Wilderness Area pursuant to 2021 43 U.S.C. §1341(h). For additional information, click here.
   
• Santa Barbara Channel Ecological Preserve and Buffer Zone
  The Santa Barbara Channel Ecological Preserve and a buffer of submerged lands adjacent to the Preserve is withdrawn from leasing and is reserved for scientific, recreational, and other similar uses as an ecological preserve pursuant to Public Land Order 4587, dated March 21,1969; see 34 FR 5655. 
   
• Marine National Monuments 
  There are five designated Marine National Monuments (MNMs), four in the Pacific and one in the Atlantic. MNMs can be designated through Congressional legislation or through Presidential Proclamation pursuant to the Antiquities Act, 54 U.S.C. § 320301. Management responsibilities are shared jointly between the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Department of the Interior. These five designated MNMs specifically prohibit oil and gas leasing and development activities:
  • Marianas Trench Marine National Monument; see Presidential Proclamation 8335 dated January 6, 2009.
  • Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument; see Presidential Proclamation 9496 dated September 15, 2016.
  • Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument; see Presidential Proclamation 8336 dated January 6, 2009, and Presidential Proclamation 9173 dated September 25, 2014.
  • Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument; see Presidential Proclamation 8031 dated June 15, 2006, and the amended Presidential Proclamation 8112 dated February 28, 2007.
  • Rose Atoll Marine National Monument; see Presidential Proclamation 8337 dated January 6, 2009.

Areas Under Restriction for Renewable Energy Leasing 

I. Protected Areas

Pursuant to the OCS Lands Act at 43 U.S.C. § 1337, and BOEM’s regulations at 30 CFR 585.204, BOEM cannot offer renewable energy leases within the boundaries of any National Park, National Wildlife Refuge, National Marine Sanctuary, or National Monument. 

II. Presidential Withdrawals

The existing Presidential withdrawals that also apply to renewable energy leasing are as follows:

• Atlantic Presidential Withdrawals:
  • Atlantic Canyons; see Presidential Memorandum dated December 20, 2016.