Archival Investigations for Potential Colonial-Era Shipwrecks in Ultra-Deepwater Within the Gulf of Mexico

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE), an agency of the U. S. Department of the Interior, is charged with the responsibility of considering the effects of its actions on significant submerged cultural resources on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) of the United States, from State Waters to the limit of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). This protection of the nation's cultural heritage is derived from several pieces of legislation including the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966 (as amended), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) of 1978, and Executive Order 11593.