On August 25, 2023, the U.S. Committee on the Marine Transportation System (CMTS) published a notice of availability for a 30-day public comment period on its proposed National Guidance for Industry on Responding to Munitions and Explosives of Concern in U.S. Federal Waters.
Throughout the last century, munitions and explosives of concern (MECs) have been deposited on the seabed of the United States, with a concentration on the Atlantic Seaboard. These munitions have ended up on the sea floor through a variety of processes including dumping, military training exercises, and war-time placements. These MECs can include unexploded ordnances and other hazardous munitions materials, such as mortars, artillery shells, and even chemical weapons such as mustard gas.
As the demand for renewable energy increases, many states and companies are turning to offshore wind, and the industry is rapidly increasing. In February 2022, the Department of Interior set a record $4.37 billion-dollar offshore wind lease auction, and the U.S. offshore wind energy sector is projected to become a $100 billion dollar industry over the next decade. However, MECs pose a significant project hazard for leaseholders developing these offshore projects. Many of these lease sites overlap with the dumping grounds for MECs used in prior decades, with confirmed and potential MEC identified in offshore construction areas impacting the nascent wind industry and conventional oil and gas development. This rate of discovery is only set to increase with increased development. Despite this threat, there is currently no Federal guidance or regulations for offshore energy leaseholders on what they should do when MECs are discovered.
On September 1, 2021, the CMTS held the first interagency workshop on the topic, resulting in the establishment of the Offshore Energy Facilitation Task Team. The CMTS established the Task Team to address this regulatory uncertainty through a whole-of-government process, bringing agencies together to develop Federal guidance for offshore energy projects. Today, the Task Team is releasing this National Guidance document for public comment. The document is intended to aid industry in addressing MECs by providing a roadmap to follow in determining the most appropriate and safest course of action when MECs are discovered and setting clear expectations for communication with the Federal government, and subsequent government processes.
The CMTS has published the notice of availability for public comment announcing the National Guidance in the Federal Register available here and invites public comments on the proposed Guidance. The public comment period closes on September 25, 2023. You may submit comments, identified by docket number DOT-OST-2023-0117 using the Federal eRulemaking Portal at https://www.regulations.gov/docket/DOT-OST-2023-0117.
Additionally, the CMTS invites you to register for an upcoming MEC National Guidance Webinar on September 7, 2023, from 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. ET. You may register for the webinar here. We encourage registration ahead of the webinar to help us better gauge attendance, but registration will remain open until the start of the meeting. The webinar will feature presentations by CMTS, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, and the U.S. Coast Guard to provide an informational overview of the MEC National Guidance. During the webinar, attendees will have the opportunity to ask clarifying questions about the Guidance. Please note, this webinar is not a formal opportunity to share comments on the Guidance. Please follow the instructions above for submitting formal comments.
The CMTS will consider the public comments submitted during this comment period in issuing any final National Guidance. Please direct any questions to [email protected].
