Environmental Compliance
Overview
The U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System Office and its partners engage in a wide range of activities. The U.S. IOOS® Office is responsible for ensuring these activities are carried out in compliance with all applicable federal environmental statutes and Executive orders. Federal statutes include but are not limited to:
- National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
- Coastal Zone Management Act
- Endangered Species Act
- Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
- Marine Mammal Protection Act
- National Marine Sanctuaries Act
- National Historic Preservation Act
Compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act
The U.S. IOOS Office is responsible for complying with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act. The act requires federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of their proposed actions prior to making decisions.
For additional information on NEPA visit the NOAA NEPA website.
Compliance with Other Environmental Statutes
- Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act
- Clean Water Act and Rivers and Harbors Act
- Coastal Barrier Resources Act
- Coastal Zone Management Act
- Applying Federal Consistency (includes the Federal Consistency Overview, the Quick Reference, and training)
- State Federal Consistency Lists
- Endangered Species Act
- Information for species under the NOAA Fisheries jurisdiction
- Permits and Federal Agency ESA Section 7(a)(2) consultation
- Species Directory / Threatened and Endangered Species
- Species list and/or mappers by region
- Alaska
- Northeast
- Southeast
- West Coast
- Pacific Islands
- Great Lakes – There are no species under NOAA Fisheries jurisdiction in the Great Lakes.
- Information for species under the NOAA Fisheries jurisdiction
- Information for species under US Fish and Wildlife Service jurisdiction
- Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
- Marine Mammal Protection Act
- Information for species under the NOAA Fisheries jurisdiction
- Information for species under US Fish and Wildlife Service jurisdiction
- Migratory Bird Treaty Act
- National Historic Preservation Act
- Federal agency National Historic Preservation Act Section 106 consultation (regulations)
- State Historic Preservation Officers Directory
- National Register of Historic Places
- Tribal Leaders Directory (Bureau of Indian Affairs)
- Tribal Directory Assessment Tool
- National Marine Sanctuaries Act
General mappers include Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA) the Marine Cadastre and NEPAssist.
Environmental Compliance for Financial Assistance Awards
The U.S. IOOS Office is responsible for managing the environmental review process for projects that receive financial assistance from the office. The environmental review must be completed prior to funding the proposed activities. It consists of determining the applicability of, and complying with, any applicable environmental law requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act and other federal statutes.
Applicants must provide the information requested by the U.S. IOOS Office, as outlined in the notice of funding opportunity, to support the environmental review.
Once compliance requirements have been completed by the U.S. IOOS Office, the recipient will be authorized to implement the proposed project activities unless there are other law requirements and/or conditions placed on the award that would restrict those activities.
For information on the current U.S. IOOS Office notices of funding opportunities visit the section What are the minimum requirements to apply for IOOS Funding through Grants.gov? under Funding Opportunities.