Map of Gulf of Mexico showing shipping lanes and Wind Energy Areas.

We’ve recently added several staff to bolster the offshore wind team at NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science. With this full team of 13, our employee owners are able to provide more focused support in their areas of expertise, including mapping and spatial modeling, data collection, communications, project management, and partner engagement. Through this work, the team develops regional ecosystem-wide spatial models to inform siting of ocean use sectors, environmental review, and permitting, which provides guidance to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on suitable locations for offshore wind siting.

Sustainable coastal planning and development increases resiliency, creates jobs, reduces reliance on unsustainable imports, supports renewable energy, and grows the domestic Blue Economy. Check out the NCCOS Coastal & Marine Planning and Offshore Wind Energy spatial planning webpages to learn more.

This team is now providing spatial planning support in all U.S. ocean regions and was recently instrumental in BOEM designating two Wind Energy Areas in the Gulf of Mexico. As offshore wind continues to expand throughout U.S. waters, this team will continue to collaborate with BOEM to support the identification of suitable locations for renewable energy. Future work is slated for the U.S. Central Atlantic, Gulf of Maine, Oregon, and more to come!

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Diesel Leak Remediation 

Our employee owners have been supporting a remediation project in the Philippines. Diesel fuel leaked from a storage tank and seeped into the groundwater and soil. Emergency measures were taken but clean-up was delayed due to COVID restrictions. After some of the more strict COVID restrictions were lifted, CSS scientists joined the environmental due diligence…

Evaluating Chemical Transfer from Pregnant and Nursing Animals  

CSS scientists supporting the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Pesticide Programs are reviewing modeling data that evaluates the potential for transfer of chemical residues from pregnant and nursing  animals to fetuses and infants. The vast majority of data come from pharmaceuticals, but staff are reviewing some data from pesticides and other environmental contaminants as well.…

Going Above and Beyond During Difficult Circumstances

Congratulations to our Senior Program Analyst for receiving the Program Manager’s Spotlight Award, one of the highest levels of awards our company offers. She was nominated by her federal deputy director with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coral Reef Conservation Program for quickly taking action upon the departure of the federal grants coordinator. She…