A U.S. National Research Council report says the federal government has ample environmental information to support leasing and explorations for the Chukchi, Navarin, and Beaufort areas off Alaska.
But it said there may not be enough information regarding the effects on the human environment.
The Minerals Management Service, at the urging of Congress, asked for the NRC study in 1991. The study did not consider whether oil and gas activities should be undertaken. It focused more on the Chukchi and Beaufort areas after finding only slight industry interest in the Navarin basin.
The report said producing oil from the Chukchi Beaufort, and Bering seas would he difficult due to harsh weather and long distances to major industrial centers, transportation, and refineries.
It said, "In general, the information available for resource geology, the physical environment, biotic resources, spills, and mitigation and remediation activities adequately reflects the differences between arctic OCS areas and other U.S. OCS areas where development and production have occurred.
"In making this determination, the committee recognized that OCS oil and gas activities present risks to the biological and human environment and that even with sometime sketchy knowledge, bounds could be put on the extent of those risks. Whether or not to accept the risks is a policy issue, not a scientific question."
The report also said the MMS environmental studies program and oil and gas resources assessment efforts have yielded information that is credible and useful in establishing a general characterization of the living resources, physical conditions, social and economic setting, and likely oil and gas resources in the arctic OCS.
Although the geological characterizations are sound, the resource estimates appear conservative, it said. This might affect estimates of effects and the ability to plan for the future.
In contrast, the study said, information is often not sufficient to support decisions about development, production, transportation, and siting of onshore facilities.
The report also said the nation's limited experience with cold water spills does not allow scientists to predict confidently the effectiveness of spill countermeasures. So experimental spills are needed.
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