Whether we are talking about offshore oil and gas, offshore renewable energy, or offshore sand and gravel for coastal restoration projects, BOEM's mandate to manage 3.2 billion acres on the Outer Continental Shelf is no small task. Sometimes offshore sand resources are not extractable because of the presence of offshore ocean energy infrastructure, archaeologically sensitive areas, and/or biologically sensitive areas.
BOEM depends on data to make its decisions on how to reduce and avoid multiple use conflicts -- whether within the agency or with other ocean users, such as national security, ocean energy facilities, commercial and recreational fishing, ocean aquaculture, maritime commerce and navigation, tribal interests, critical undersea infrastructure and other ocean uses.
Below are links to data portals, maps and other information BOEM uses and contributes to in managing the Marine Minerals Program.
Federal Sand and Gravel Lease Borrow Areas (Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico) GIS Data
Managing Multiple Uses
- In the Gulf of Mexico - Gulf of Mexico Lease Blocks with Significant Sediment Resources
- In the Atlantic - Atlantic OCS Block Aliquots where sand resources have been identified through reconnaissance and/or design-level OCS studies. (product in development)
Marine Planning Tools
- Marine Minerals Information System (MMIS)
- Marine Cadastre
- OceanReports
- Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MARCO) Data Portal
- North Atlantic Regional Ocean Council (NROC) Data Portal
GIS Web Services