NTL 1999-G16 - Live-Bottom Surveys and Reports - July 8, 1999

This Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) supersedes the Letter to Lessees and Operators dated January 31, 1989, on this subject. It makes minor technical amendments and includes a statement on the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. Certain leases in the northeastern Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area and the Eastern Gulf of Mexico Planning Area are located in areas characterized by the existence of live bottoms. Livebottom areas are defined as seagrass communities; those areas (Pinnacle Trend) that contain biological assemblages consisting of sessile invertebrates living upon and attached to naturally occurring hard or rocky formations with rough, broken, or smooth topography; and areas where the lithotope favors the accumulation of turtles, fishes, or other fauna. These leases contain a LiveBottom (Pinnacle Trend) Stipulation to ensure that impacts from nearby oil and gas activities on these live-bottom areas are mitigated to the greatest extent possible.