The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will hold the first meeting of the BOEM standing committee on environmental science and assessment for offshore energy and mineral resources on Tuesday, December 8, 2015, at the historic National Academies building at 2101 Constitution Ave, N.W., Washington, D.C.

The public session will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. EST.

BOEM Director Abigail Ross Hopper will welcome the new committee, whose members were selected through a rigorous, independent process managed by the Academies this year. She will share her thoughts on the value the expert panel can bring to BOEM's stewardship of offshore energy and non-energy mineral resources and related topics. Following her remarks, BOEM's Chief Environmental Officer, William Y. Brown, and other senior managers from headquarters and BOEM's regional offices will brief the committee on priorities and programs.

The National Academies' Committee on Offshore Science and Assessment (COSA) meeting is open to media and the public, although seating is limited. The Academies require advance registration to attend in person.

Those interested in attending can use the following website to RSVP. The meeting will also be carried live via webcast through the same website. In addition, media and the public may email questions or comments to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 3 p.m., December 8, for the closing session. Questions will be read in the order they are received and potentially grouped together.

The committee encompasses a broad range of expertise in both natural and social sciences, relevant disciplines within those broad areas, and collective expertise from academia, industry, government, and the non-profit world in all four Outer Continental Shelf regions.