Geologic studies of the outer Continental Shelf off the Middle Atlantic States (Baltimore Canyon Trough Area) have been carried out for two years to assess conditions and hazards which might cause or distribute oil spills and other potential pollution associated with petroleum exploration and development. These detailed investigations were requested and funded by the Bureau of Land Management to carry out its responsibility under the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act (67 Stat 462) of 1953 and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Because of the energy crisis, these studies had to be mounted quickly so that a substantial body of data would be available for making decisions concerning environmental constraints on potential lease tracts. Indeed, pertinent data were available prior to Lease Sale #40 in the Middle Atlantic in August 1976. This was in part due to the alacrity of BLM's Environmental Division management, and in part due to the depth of USGS' experience in the area. For example, geophysical data and bottom samples had been collected since 1962 as part of the Geological Survey's role to "conduct geological and geophysical exploration in the Outer Continental Shelf" (43 U.S.C. 1340). At the advent of the energy crisis, the Atlantic-Gulf Coast Branch focused in-house resources and environmental assessment efforts on the Middle Atlantic OCS area. Thus, considerable information was available to guide the needed detailed studies.
