Four Years After Sandy: Updates from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) invested $13.6 million in federal funding for Hurricane Sandy recovery to address critical needs for Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) sand throughout areas undergoing recovery, rebuilding and resiliency planning. 

BOEM funded cooperative agreements with 13 Atlantic coast states to identify and map OCS sand resources, update their databases, determine future sand needs, conduct coastal resiliency studies and OCS sand resource evaluations, and supplement broad scale environmental monitoring. BOEM actively engaged coastal communities in the northeast, mid-Atlantic, southeast and Florida to continue and in some cases to begin dialog on managing offshore resources. 

BOEM leased OCS sand for four coastal restoration projects, and funded several research initiatives. BOEM funded the Atlantic Sand Assessment Project (ASAP) to collect and analyze sediment cores offshore 11 states in 2015 and 2016, and signed an agreement with Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) to house the collection and provide public access to two databases. Collectively, these activities support coastal resilience planning and responsible ecosystem management. 

As of October 2016, BOEM has:

• Conveyed the use of 10.6 million cubic yards to Sandbridge Beach and Wallops Island, VA, Brevard County, FL, and Long Beach Island, NJ, for beach restoration projects; the first three are completed and the fourth is more than 90 percent complete.
• Published summary reports from the states receiving funds through cooperative agreements to update their maps and databases of offshore sand resources. The data will be invaluable to researchers, geologists and coastal managers planning to meet future needs. 
• Funded the Atlantic Sand Assessment Project (ASAP) to collect and analyze sediment cores offshore 11 states from Miami, FL, to Massachusetts in 2015 and 2016, and signed an agreement with the world-renown Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) at Columbia University to house the collection in their core repository. The core analysis provides important information on thickness of sediment layers, composition of sediment layers, organic material content, and overall compatibility with beach sands. 
• Collaborated with LDEO to open the database to researchers and the public through the System for Earth Sample Registration (SESAR) at. Users search the catalog and “set name/igsn” with “BOEM.”  As a result of the ASAP project, researchers and coastal managers have access to an expanded inventory of potential offshore sediment resources in Federal waters in the Atlantic.
• Began the environmental study, Ecological Function and Recovery of Biological Communities within Dredged Ridge-Swale Habitats in the South-Atlantic Bight, with the University of Florida, USACE, U.S. Navy, and NASA. The purpose is to understand the importance of dredged habitats to benthos and fish by observing prolonged biological, physical, and chemical recovery of borrow areas. Observations over a six year period will help BOEM more fully identify the potential impacts of sediment removal activities and determine the true extent, nature, and process of disturbance and recovery. It will also help improve regional management of offshore sand resources, as well as environmental analysis and consultations for protected species and essential fish habitat.

In the coming year, BOEM plans to:

• Continue to monitor fish populations use of the Atlantic shoals through 2019
• Continue meetings with coastal states, federal partners and communities to manage offshore sand resources
• Inform researchers and coastal managers of the BOEM core repository and data base at Lamont-Doherty 
• Implement the second round of Cooperative Agreements
• Conduct additional design level surveys under the Atlantic Sand Assessment Project

Highlighted projects in 2016:

• Since Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced the funding in May 2013, BOEM has been fully engaged in executing all aspects of its response plans, including restoration projects in Sandbridge Beach and Wallops Island, VA;  Brevard County, FL; and Long Beach Island, NJ.  
• Publication of reports funded through cooperative agreements with 13 Atlantic states, enabling them to update maps and data for future projects and conduct related research. For more information see our BOEM Hurricane Sandy fact sheet or learn more about BOEM state and regional activities.
• Opened the Atlantic Sand Assessment Project (ASAP) and Core Repository and Databases at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. BOEM funded the ASAP to collect and analyze sediment cores from offshore 11 states from Miami, FL, to Massachusetts beginning in 2015, and signed an agreement with the world-renown Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) at Columbia University to house the collection in their core repository and make the data accessible to researchers, coastal managers and others through two databases. The core analysis provides important information on thickness of sediment layers, composition of sediment layers, organic material content, and overall compatibility with beach sands. As a result of the ASAP project, researchers and coastal managers have access to an expanded inventory of potential offshore sediment resources in Federal waters in the Atlantic. For more information, visit the Marine Minerals Program home page.