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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Supporting Safety In Higher Education Laboratories

In the past two years we’ve expanded our safety portfolio to supporting colleges and universities, ensuring their laboratories meet industrial hygiene and safety standards. Our staff member leading the effort is a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) and Certified Safety Professional (CSP), and member of the Remote Industrial Hygiene and Safety Support Team. Our short-term projects…

Assisting With Maui Wildfire Recovery

As part of our support to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 9 Superfund Technical Assessment & Response Team (START)—for which we are subcontracted through Weston Solutions, Inc.—CSS employee owners have been on-site in three-week rotations to assist throughout the rigorous recovery process. 

Contributing to an Award-Winning Newsletter

Congratulations to the communications team at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Office for Coastal Management on their award-winning publication, Coastal Communicators. As part of a subcontract with Lynker, our communication staff contribute to this monthly publication to help share tips, lessons learned, and best practices with other communicators and coastal programs who don’t…