NOAA Ship BELL SHIMADA during the 2010 Pacific Hake Inter-Vessel Calibration. Credit: NOAA/NMFS/WCR

NOAA Ship BELL SHIMADA during the 2010 Pacific Hake Inter-Vessel Calibration. Credit: NOAA/NMFS/WCR

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
  • 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

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.

The U.S. IOOS Office is responsible for complying with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act, but also those of other federal laws for each proposed action. A list of the most common applicable federal laws and resources for complying with their requirements follow:

General mappers include the Marine Cadastre and NEPAssist.

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 are responsible for providing information requested by the U.S. IOOS Office that will assist the office in conducting the environmental review. The U.S. IOOS Office uses the Environmental Compliance Questionnaire for NOAA Notice of Federal Funding Opportunity Applicants (OMB Approval Number: 0648-0538, Expiration Date: 11/30/2024) for requesting information from applicants. A fillable version of the form is available for download here. Please include the notice of funding opportunity number or award number, as applicable, in the file name when submitting the document. For additional information refer to the contact information in the notice of funding opportunity or the assigned technical monitor for the award, as applicable.

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. Applicants for U.S. IOOS Office financial assistance are responsible for complying with all applicable local, state and federal law requirements prior to implementing activities under the award. 

For information on the current U.S. IOOS Office notices of funding opportunities visit Funding Opportunities.