As part of the MMS’s national environmental program, the Gulf of Mexico OCS Region manages scientific studies that help us better understand the marine and coastal environment and the potential effects of our activities on this environment.

In the Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, the Environmental Program includes

• The Environmental Sciences Section plans, implements, and manages the Environmental Studies Program for the Gulf of Mexico Region and the Atlantic Region.
   
• The Environmental Assessment Section (the Social Sciences, Mapping, and NEPA/CZM Coordination Units)

About $5 million is spent annually in the Gulf of Mexico OCS Region to fund research in biology, ecology, marine archaeology, physical oceanography, protected species, and socioeconomics.

National Program

The MMS supports an extensive program of scientific studies.  At the national level, the MMS's Environmental Sciences Branch provides policy guidance and program direction and oversight for the MMS Environmental Studies Program and the MMS Oil Spill Modeling Program.  It also provides national level coordination with research managers in the Department of the Interior, other Federal agencies and coordinating committees, and non-Federal research organizations.