International Environmental Impact Assessment - Atkins

Flower Garden Banks national marine sanctuarylong-term monitoring, USAClient: DOI, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management,Regulation and EnforcementFlower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGB) off theTexas coast is a national treasure and home to the most sensitivebiological habitat in the federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico.Atkins teamed with other coral reef experts on an eight yearlong-term coral reef monitoring project for the U.S. Departmentof Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulationand Enforcement. Our goals were to monitor coral populationsto detect changes that may be caused by oil and gas activities,and address concerns related to both gradual and punctuateddegradation of this unique offshore ecosystem.Members of the Atkins Scientific Dive Team recorded benthic,fishery, and water quality data to address the regulatoryissues confronting BOEMRE and the National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration. Throughout the eight-yearcontract period, we maintained a consistent project team withFGB experience, which allowed for continuous collection ofsubstantial quantities of data, often with limited time framesfor field work because of unfavourable weather conditions inthe Gulf of Mexico.59