# Plain Language Summary: Congressional Disapproval of Marine Archaeological Protection Rule

Congress is voting to reject a new rule created by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management that was designed to protect ancient shipwrecks, artifacts, and other archaeological sites on the ocean floor. This is a "disapproval resolution," which is a special congressional power that lets lawmakers overturn government agency rules they disagree with.

The rule being rejected would have required companies doing ocean energy work—like offshore oil and gas drilling or wind farm development—to be more careful about protecting underwater archaeological treasures. If Congress passes this disapproval resolution, the rule would be canceled, and those protections would go away. This means energy companies would have fewer requirements to avoid damaging or destroying historically important underwater sites when they're doing their work on the ocean floor.

Who this affects depends on your interests. If you care about preserving history and protecting underwater archaeological sites, this resolution would be bad news because it removes safeguards. If you work in or support the offshore energy industry, you might see this as reducing regulations that could slow down or increase costs for energy projects. Coastal communities and researchers who study maritime history could also be impacted if important underwater archaeological sites lose protection from development activities.

A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management relating to "Protection of Marine Archaeological Resources".

Kennedy, John

This joint resolution nullifies the&nbsp;final rule issued by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) titled Protection of Marine Archaeological&nbsp;Resources and published on September 3, 2024. The rule requires operators and&nbsp;lessees conducting oil and gas exploration or development on the Outer Continental Shelf and that are seeking BOEM approval for such activities to also provide BOEM with an archaeological report for the area of potential effects.&nbsp;The report must identify potential archaeological resources (material remains of human life or activities that are at least 50 years old and that are of archaeological interest) on the sea floor. The rule modified regulations that only required such a report when a&nbsp;BOEM regional director has reason to believe that an archaeological resource may be present in the lease area.&nbsp;