Historic Preservation Activities and Offshore Renewable Energy

The mission of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s Office of Renewable Energy Programs (OREP) is to regulate environmentally-responsible offshore renewable energy development activities. In support of that objective, the archaeologists in OREP coordinate studies and conduct Section 106 reviews under the National Historic Preservation Act, which are intended to identify and protect archaeological sites and other historic properties.

Historic properties on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) include historic shipwrecks, sunken aircraft, lighthouses, and pre-contact archaeological sites that have become inundated due to global sea level rise since the height of the last ice age ca. 19,000 years ago. Pre-contact archaeological sites are those that date to the time before European contact with Native Americans. Historic properties onshore (e.g., sites, buildings, and districts) are also considered where they may be affected by a proposed renewable energy project.

Reviews under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act

Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) requires federal agencies to take into account the effects of their undertakings on historic properties and afford the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation an opportunity to comment. OREP archaeologists help BOEM meets its obligations under the NHPA by conducting detailed reviews according to 36 CFR Part 800 and coordinating those reviews with OREP’s analyses under the National Environmental Policy Act. The following constitute documentation relating to Section 106 review activities for ongoing renewable energy projects on the Atlantic OCS.

Guidelines for Identification of Historic Properties in Federal Waters

BOEM's regulations at 30 CFR Part 585 require renewable energy developers to provide the results of detailed site characterization surveys in order for the bureau to conduct the required technical and environmental review of an applicant's plan. Our current guidelines for collecting and submitting these data, Guidelines for Providing Archaeological and Historic Property Information Pursuant to 30 CFR Part 585, include recommendations on the appropriate methods to identify historic properties located on the OCS. These guidelines are subject to revision as new technology develops, studies are completed, and consultations inform our scope of identification efforts. For onshore areas or areas in state waters, OREP recommends contacting the relevant State Historic Preservation Officer for guidance on the appropriate methods and level of effort to identify historic properties in these areas.

Battle of the Atlantic project
NOAA and BOEM archaeologists, along with other partners, recently investigated the remains of the U-576 and Bluefields lost off the coast of North Carolina during WWII. Click on the image above to learn more about the project.
MCAS
Archaeologists and scientific divers from the UNC Coastal Studies Institute, BOEM, East Carolina University and NOAA's Monitor National Marine Sanctuary recently completed a cultural resource survey within the wind energy area offshore Maryland.
VAAS
The Virginia Collaborative Archaeological Survey was designed to investigate maritime cultural heritage sites located in and near the Virginia Commercial Wind Energy Area. Click on the image above to see a short video about the project.
In August of 2014, a team of researchers including BOEM's Office of Renewable Energy Programs and NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries discovered two significant vessels from World War II's Battle of the Atlantic. The German U-boat 576 and the tanker Bluefields were found approximately 30 miles off the coast of North Carolina. Lost for more than 70 years, the discovery of the two vessels, in an area known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic, is a rare window into a historic military battle and the underwater battlefield landscape of WWII.
In August of 2014, a team of researchers including BOEM's Office of Renewable Energy Programs and NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries discovered two significant vessels from World War II's Battle of the Atlantic. The German U-boat 576 and the tanker Bluefields were found approximately 30 miles off the coast of North Carolina. Lost for more than 70 years, the discovery of the two vessels, in an area known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic, is a rare window into a historic military battle and the underwater battlefield landscape of WWII. Click here to open the press release

Studies

OREP archaeologists also support a number of studies, many of which involve interdisciplinary approaches and substantial interagency collaboration. OREP archaeologists work alongside the marine scientists and technologists of the United States Geological Survey Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Sanctuaries, the National Park Service Submerged Resources Center, and many others.

The following constitute BOEM's completed or ongoing renewable energy studies relating to archaeology or historic preservation on the Atlantic OCS.

BOEM archaeologists featured in the DOI quarterly Newswave
BOEM archaeologists featured in the DOI quarterly Newswave.
BOEM archaeologists worked alongside NOAA scientists during investigations at the Steamer City of Houston, lost in 1878
BOEM archaeologists worked alongside NOAA and UNC scientists during investigations at the Steamer City of Houston, lost in 1878, and other sites within the Wilmington East Call Area. Click on the image to see time-lapse videos of a typical day on the NOAA Ship Nancy Foster during this work in May of 2014.
Collaborative Archaeological Investigations and Sound Source Verifications within the Massachusetts Wind Energy Area.
Collaborative Archaeological Investigations and Sound Source Verifications within the Massachusetts Wind Energy Area.

For more information

Explore the following links for more information on BOEM’s studies, archaeology and historic preservation, and renewable energy activities in other regions.

Contact

renewable_reporting@boem.gov
OREP/Atlantic Regional Historic Preservation Officer
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Office of Renewable Energy
45600 Woodland Road,
Sterling, Virginia 20166
703-787-1549