§551.7. Test drilling activities under a permit. — Inbound Citations

(5) If the BOEM Regional Director believes that an archaeological resource may exist in the area that may be affected by drilling, the BOEM Regional Director will notify you of the need to prepare an archaeological report under 30 CFR 551.7(b)(5).

(i) If the evidence suggests that an archaeological resource may be present, you must:

(A) Locate the site of the drilling so as to not adversely affect the area where the archaeological resources may be, or

(B) Establish to the satisfaction of the BOEM Regional Director that an archaeological resource does not exist or will not be adversely affected by drilling. This must be done by further archaeological investigation, conducted by an archaeologist and a geophysicist, using survey equipment and techniques deemed necessary by the Regional Director. A report on the investigation must be submitted to the BOEM Regional Director for review.

(ii) If the BOEM Regional Director determines that an archaeological resource is likely to be present in the area that may be affected by drilling, and may be adversely affected by drilling, the BOEM Regional Director will notify you immediately. You must take no action that may adversely affect the archaeological resource unless further investigations determine that the resource is not archaeologically significant.

(iii) If you discover any archaeological resource while drilling, you must immediately halt drilling and report the discovery to the BOEM Regional Director. If investigations determine that the resource is significant, the BOEM Regional Director will inform you how to protect it.

(b) You must submit to the appropriate BOEM or BSEE Regional Director, at the address in § 551.7(d), a drilling plan (submitted to BOEM), an environmental report (submitted to BOEM), an Application for Permit to Drill (Form BSEE-0123) (submitted to BSEE), and a Supplemental APD Information Sheet (Form BSEE-0123S) (submitted to BSEE) as follows:

(1) Drilling plan. The drilling plan must include: