Abstract
The protection and management of Underwater Cultural Heritage (UCH) is a challenging topic, as it involves the interplay of United States (U.S.) statutes, maritime law, international law, and often complex issues regarding what law applies when and against whom it may be enforced. Under a number of statutes, including the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), the Secretary of the Department of the Interior (DOI) has delegated to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) the authority, responsibility, and jurisdiction over various activities on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) that may have the potential to impact UCH. To promote compliance with OCSLA and several other statutes, BOEM has developed regulations and guidance documents directing energy lease and permit holders to avoid impacting any archaeological resources found during the survey or development of their leases. With the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, BOEM has jurisdiction for renewable energy development on the OCS.
The majority of the legal guidance regarding BOEM responsibilities for the survey and protection of archaeological resources was developed by DOI in the early 1980s with periodic revisions in the 1990s. The existing guidance is dated and does not take into account revisions to the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and its regulations, or BOEM's expanded responsibilities for renewable energy development on the OCS. Consequently, it has been difficult for BOEM to reliably apply the existing statutes and regulations with which they rely to protect and enforce UCH management law.