5. Shipping

There are 20 tracts (Tract Nos. 11, 14, 19, 21, 22, 58,

69, 88, 89, 94, 95, 96, 97, 115, 118, 129, 133, 243, 244 and 245) which have an environmental impact factor of 80 for structures in relation to shipping. This is a reflection of the fact that each of these tracts are located partially within shipping lanes. Development of these 20 tracts will be subject to Federal Regulations as described in section V. B of this statement.

There are an additional 12 tracts (Nos. 12, 15, 18, 20, 68, 134, 141, 142, 143, 144, 235 and 242) which have an environmental impact factor of 64 for structures in relation to shipping. This is a reflection of the fact that each of these tracts is located within 1 mile of established shipping lanes. No other tracts in this proposed sale are within 1 mile

of shipping lanes.

6. Outdoor Recreation

There are no tracts in this proposed sale which have an environmental impact factor for this category greater than zero.

7. Commercial Fishing

There are a total of 6 tracts (Nos. 14, 15, 57, 58, 59 and 60) which have an environmental factor of 80 for structures in relation to commercial fishing. All other tracts have factors less than 50 for this category.

A suggested stipulation concerning the development of all the tracts

in this proposed sale has been presented in section V.

adopted, this stipulation will help mitigate the impact resulting

from the placement of structures in relation to commercial fishing

activities.

8. Sport Fishing

average catch.

In every case, the environmental impact factor of structures for sport fishing is fixed at a zero. This reflects the fact that offshore structures have a favorable impact on sport fishing activities by concentrating fish around the platforms and thereby increasing the Eighty percent of the sport fishing from platforms is undertaken within 12 miles from shore, although some sport fishing craft make overnight trips and can venture out much further. Offshore platforms also serve as aids to navigation, a source of assistance in emergencies and havens for small boats in storms. Platforms resulting from blocks leased as a result of this proposed sale could be expected to have a positive and favorable impact on sport fishing and small boat recreationists over a period of time (up to 20-25 years).

Three risk categories will be used to rank the degree of

potential hazard the tracts in this proposed sale pose to the environ

ment. These categories are discussed below:

1. High Hazard Potential to the Environment

Highly hazardous may be defined as a tract which is oil

or oil and gas prone and within such close proximity to a high valuecritically vulnerable resource as to disallow the minimum present practical response time 1/ necessary to effectuate oil spill containment, clean-up and contingency measures to stop or retard the spill from impacting upon the resource. Also, a tract may be considered highly hazardous if it is oil prone and is wholly located in an unstable sediment zone. There are no tracts in this proposed sale classified as highly hazardous.

2. Moderate Hazard Potential to the Environment

Moderately hazardous may be defined as an oil or oil and gas prone tract whose proximity to a high value-critically vulnerable resource does not preclude adequate response time (based on current industry capability in the Gulf of Mexico, offshore Louisiana and Texas) necessary to effectuate containment, clean-up and contingency measures to stop or retard the spill from impacting upon the unique resource area. However, all oil prone tracts, if not determined to be highly hazardous to the environment, are placed in this category

1/ Minimum practical response time would be at least 12 hours (for tracts within 100 miles of shore) from the time notification is received that a spill has occurred to the time appropriate equipment can be at the spill site.

for primarily two reasons: (a) all are capable of spilling oil;

the effects of an oil spill on open ocean marine biota is also considered adverse although not as severe as the effects on (unique usually nearshore or onshore) high value resources; (b) no clean-up and containment equipment can be effectuated during adverse weather conditions, such as violent storms and hurricanes and none of this type of equipment available today is very effective in five-foot or more seas. Also included in this category are gas prone tracts located in topographic highs with associated live coral communities. Ten tracts in this proposed sale (Nos. 219, 220, 227, 228, 229, 231, 232, 239, 240, 241) are considered moderately hazardous to the environment because of their relationship to the Flower Garden Banks offshore Texas. These are the only tracts in this proposed sale considered moderately hazardous to the environment.

3. Minimal Hazard Potential to the Environment

Minimally hazardous may be defined as a gas prone tract whose development under existing operating orders, regulations and safety requirements promises a low level of disruption and adverse effects to the environment. Experience indicates that the impacts

resulting from development of tracts of this type are not so much ecological in nature as they are conflictual with other uses or activities in a marine area. In most cases, such conflicts or hazards can be mitigated by enforcement of existing regulations or by attaching special conditions or stipulations to the lease concerning its

development.

All of the tracts in this proposed sale with the exception of the

10 tracts identified as moderately hazardous to the environment are considered to be minimally hazardous.

None of the 245 tracts in the proposed sale are located in unstable sediment zones, and any unforeseen conflicts with other uses and activities of the areas will be mitigated by regulations, operating orders, and where necessary, special stipulations.

For specific tract-by-tract characteristics see the appended matrix tables and the preceding section titled "Recapitulation of the Matrices".