The Impact of Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning on Deepwater Drilling
Joan M. Bondareff, of counsel at Blank Rome, was published in the Fall 2011 edition of the American Bar Association's Natural Resources & Environment magazine (volume 26, number 2).
In her article, Ms. Bondareff reviews the chain of events that have occurred in Washington and in the maritime industry in the aftermath of Deepwater Horizon and discusses the history of coastal and marine spatial planning, which is important to consider given the Executive Order 13547 that President Obama issued on July 19, 2010 effectively creating a new ocean policy for the United States, establishing a new National Ocean Council, and calling for the creation of a series of Coastal and Marine Spatial Plans (CMSPs).
Ms. Bondareff concludes that "The development of CMSPs may have a positive impact both on deepwater drilling for oil and gas as well as for the development of renewable resources. Even if the CMSPs are not strictly enforceable, they will provide an excellent opportunity for interested stakeholders, at the federal, state, and local government levels, as well as industry and NGOs, to meet and discuss how the waters of the EEZ and Great Lakes should be managed."
Natural Resources & Environment magazine is published quarterly and is the magazine of the American Bar Association's Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources. The magazine seeks to inform lawyers of legislative and regulatory developments, offer solutions to the day-to-day problems that present themselves in the practice of natural resources, energy, and environmental law, and to serve as a forum for discussion of environmental, resource, and energy policy.
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