+--------+--------------------------------------------------+---------+
| ![     | **OCS MAPPING INITIATIVE**                       | ![      |
| ](medi |                                                  | ](media |
| a/imag | **The Multipurpose Marine Cadastre**             | /image2 |
| e1.png |                                                  | .jpeg){ |
| ){widt |                                                  | width=" |
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| 506944 |                                                  | 3333333 |
| 444444 |                                                  | 3334in" |
| 444in" |                                                  | he      |
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| ="0.74 |                                                  | .739583 |
| 305555 |                                                  | 3333333 |
| 555555 |                                                  | 334in"} |
| 56in"} |                                                  |         |
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On August 8, 2005, President George Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of
2005 (P.L. 109-58). *Sec. 388 -- Alternative Energy-Related Uses on the
Outer Continental Shelf*, of the Act grants the Minerals Management
Service (MMS) new authority to regulate alternative energy uses on the
Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Moreover, it directs the Secretary of the
Interior, in cooperation with the Secretary of Commerce, the Commandant
of the Coast Guard, and the Secretary of Defense, to establish an OCS
Mapping Initiative to assist in decision making related to alternative
energy uses on the OCS. The goal of the initiative is the identification
of OCS locations of Federally-permitted activities; obstructions to
navigation; submerged cultural resources; undersea cables; offshore
aquaculture projects; and any area designated for the purpose of safety,
national security, environmental protection, or conservation and
management of living marine resources.

The repository of this data will be the Multipurpose Marine Cadastre -
an integrated submerged lands information system consisting of legal,
e.g., property ownership or cadastre, physical, and cultural information
in a common reference framework. It will be an ambitious, multiyear
endeavor that requires joint planning, interaction, and commitment by
Federal, State, local, territorial, and tribal entities working through
public and private partnerships.

Implementation of the Multipurpose Marine Cadastre will allow MMS
managers and technical staffs, at Federal agencies; coastal States;
local, territorial, and tribal governments; private industry; and the
academic community, to directly access information and resources
necessary to promote and conduct good ocean governance.

Official data associated with the themes identified below, are to come
directly from the Agency of Responsibility (AOR). All data within the
Multipurpose Marine Cadastre will conform to existing data standards and
contain supporting metadata. AORs will ensure that their data are
accurate and up-to-date.

If a *comprehensive* Multipurpose Marine Cadastre is going to be
implemented in the most efficient and practical manner, it will require
open communications amongst all stakeholders.

![](media/image3.jpeg){width="3.3722222222222222in" height="2.78125in"}

When considering the legal framework for the Multipurpose Marine
Cadastre, four questions must be taken into account. First, what types
of rights exist in a marine context? Second, what laws define those
rights? Third, what is the hierarchy of precedence among those rights?
And fourth, how do these various rights interact with one another?

Potentially every appropriate law, boundary, restriction, Army Corps of
Engineers permit, or obstruction e.g., pipeline, undersea cable,
artificial reef, etc., located in the marine environment could interact
with and potentially impact the decisions managers make in fulfilling
their mission responsibilities. A *comprehensive* Multipurpose

Marine Cadastre must be dynamic and include, but not limited to, the
following data themes.

![](media/image4.jpeg){width="2.875in" height="1.2708333333333333in"}

**Primary Cadastre Data Themes**

1\. Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) Grid

System

2\. National Baseline

3\. Coastline

4\. Submerged Lands Act boundaries

5\. Territorial Submerged Land Act Boundaries

6\. Official Protraction Diagram & Leasing Map

(MMS)

7\. Maritime boundaries and Zones

8\. Marine Managed Areas (MMA's)

9\. Marine Protected Areas (MPA's) Parks,

Sanctuaries, Etc.

10\. Administrative Boundaries (MMS)

**Supporting Data Themes**

1\. Sand Borrow Areas

2\. Pipelines

3\. Undersea Cables

4\. Artificial Reef Sites

5\. Shipping Fairways, Anchorage Areas etc.

6\. Bathymetry

7\. Military Restricted Areas including military dump

sites

8\. Platform Locations & Platform Structures (Type)

9\. Alternative Energy Sites, e.g., wind, wave, tide,

and solar

10\. Archeological Sites

11\. Aquaculture Sites

12\. Oil & Gas Leases

13\. Alternative Energy Leases

14\. Liquid Natural Gas Facilities

15\. Essential Fish Habitat (EFH)

16\. Fishery Regulatory Closures

17\. Protected Species Information/Critical Habitat

18\. Dynamic Area Management Zones

19\. No Discharge Zones

20\. National Estuaries Program

21\. Geohazards -- faulting, slumping, sliding, etc.

22\. Other Data Themes as appropriate

***The successful development, implementation, and maintenance of the
Multipurpose Marine Cadastre is contingent on our ability and
willingness to proactively approach and resolve issues, to develop
effective meaningful partnerships, to share information, and maintain
open communications.***

**LINKS:**

<http://www.mms.gov/ld/PDFs/MappingInitiative.pdf> - Multipurpose Marine
Cadastre implementation plan.

[http://geodata.gov](http://geodata.gov/) -- your one stop for finding
and using geographic data.

<http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:H.R.6>: - The Energy Policy
Act of 2005

<http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/a016/a016_rev.html> - OMB
Circular A-16 regarding coordination of geographic information and
related spatial data activities.

<http://ocean.ceq.gov/welcome.html> - The Committee on Ocean Policy
coordinates the activities of executive branch departments and agencies
regarding ocean-related matters.

<http://www.csc.noaa.gov/mbwg> - FGDC Marine Boundary Working Group web
site and data portal.

<http://www.csc.noaa.gov/mcsd> - FGDC Marine & Coastal Spatial Data
Subcommittee.

[http://www.fgdc.gov](http://www.fgdc.gov/) -- The Federal Geographic
Data Committee.

<http://www.oceanservice.noaa.gov/dataexplorer/datasites/welcome.html> -
NOAA, NOS Data Explorer.

<http://www.csc.noaa.gov/legislativeatlas/> - The Legislative Atlas
supports regional ocean and coastal management efforts by mapping key
state and federal laws and jurisdictions.

<http://www.mms.gov/ld/maps.htm> - MMS maps and GIS data.

<http://ocsenergy.anl.gov/index.cfm> - the online center for public
information and involvement in the OCS Renewable Energy and Alternative
Use Programatic Environmental Impact Statement.

<http://www.mms.gov/offshore/RenewableEnergy/RenewableEnergy/Main.htm> -
information on the MMS renewable energy and alternative use programs.

[http://www.openoceans.org](http://www.openoceans.org/) -- improving
collaborations on ocean investigations.