What are the roles of the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Rigs-to-Reefs?
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) has broad authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to protect natural resources of the OCS. With the reorganization of the Department of the Interior’s Mineral Management Service, the role of DOI in Rigs-to-Reefs was split, as follows: Within DOI, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) is responsible for regulatory, safety, environmental and conservation compliance for the development of the nation’s offshore oil and gas and renewable energy resources.