INDEPENDENT APPRAISAL OF THE OFFSHORE ECOLOGY INVESTIGATION.

The Offshore Ecology Investigation (OEI) was conducted over a two-year (June 1972-January 1974) eight-season period in the Timbalier Bay and offshore region of the ″Louisiana Oil Patch.″ It consisted of 23 biological, chemical, physical, and geological investigations coordinated in space and time in an effort to detect any cumulative effects on the bay and offshore ecosystems resulting from 35 years of intensive oil and gas drilling and production. This study presents the results of that analysis in terms of (1) the validity and the adequacy of the data to support the 1974 OEI consensus conclusions, (2) the validity of, and basis for, those conclusions, and (3) general recommendations for monitoring methodologies.