Environmental Engineering Reference
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o. Serve as the U.S. representative on offshore wind standards develop-
ment committees, both nationally and internationally.
IMPLEMENTATION: CAPACITY AND EXPERTISE
USDOI's Offshore Energy and Minerals Management program includes
both offshore oil and gas and offshore renewable energy regulatory pro-
grams. It is staffed by roughly 900 professionals in three regional offices
(GOM, Alaska, and Pacific); associated district offices; and headquarters
offices in Washington, D.C., and Herndon, Virginia. The headquarters
staff has one engineer with a background in civil and marine engineer-
ing and naval architecture, and the GOM regional office is supplying
an engineer to support the Office of Alternative Energy Projects on an
as-needed basis.
The Office of Structural and Technical Support (OSTS) is responsible
for ensuring that the platforms operating on the OCS are designed, fab-
ricated, installed, and maintained in accordance with regulations. This
group is based in the GOM regional office in New Orleans, Louisiana, and
serves as structural support for the Pacific region as well. On the oil and
gas side, roughly 3,500 facilities are installed in the U.S. OCS (primarily
GOM), and OSTS has fewer than 10 engineers to address permit applica-
tions, inspection data, repair information, and all other structural data
and requests. Since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, many of the more experi-
enced staff in OSTS, including its director, have left the organization.
Remaining staff have less experience in addressing offshore structural
issues and no experience in addressing issues related specifically to off-
shore wind structures.
To enhance its ability to oversee the offshore wind industry effectively,
BOEMRE may wish to focus on obtaining staff or contractors with experi-
ence in the following areas: offshore structures design, with a preference for
experience in offshore wind design; offshore installations, with a preference
for experience in pile-founded structures; wind turbine hookup and com-
missioning, with a preference for offshore experience; and offshore struc-
tures operation and maintenance, with a preference for offshore wind
facilities experience. Experience with the standards development process
would also be beneficial.
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