Ole Varmer
Attorney-Advisor
International Section
Office of the General Counsel
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
U.S. Department of Commerce

Ole Varmer has been a legal adviser to NOAA since 1987. Ole joined the International Section of NOAA’s Office of General Counsel in 1998. As an attorney-advisor he has worked on a variety of international issues and is primarily responsible for providing advice on the subject areas involving the law of the sea, biological diversity, heritage (natural and cultural), jurisdiction, zones and boundaries in the marine environment. Ole also worked on international issues in his previous position in the Oceans and Coasts Section of NOAA Office of the General Counsel which he joined in 1990. Prior to coming to NOAA, Ole worked for three years in the General Law Division of the Department of Commerce’s Office of the General Counsel, where he worked on a number of issues for NOAA involving environmental compliance in its federal facilities, including compliance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), as well as the purchase of land for towers in the Next-Generation Radar (NEXRAD) weather program.

Ole is a graduate of Yeshiva University’s Benjamin Cardozo School of Law (J.D. 1987). He is also a graduate of Columbia Union College (B.S. Business Administration; minor in chemistry, 1980) and earned a Legal Assistant Certificate from George Washin gton University (1981). Prior to law school, he worked as a legal assistant at Howery & Simon, Schnader, Harrison, Segal & Lewis and Hamel & Park.

Publications and Presentations

2013. Mariano Aznar & Ole Varmer, The Titanic as Underwater Cultural Heritage: Challenges to its Legal International Protection, Vol 44 Ocean Development &International Law 96-112.

2011. Varmer, Ole and Theodore M. Beuttler, Papahânaumokuâkea Inscribed as a World Heritage Site. American Bar Association, Marine Resources Committee Newsletter 14(1):3-7.

2010. Varmer, Ole; Jefferson Gray; and David Alberg. United States: Responses to the 2001 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage. J. Mari. Arch. 5:129-141.

2008. Varmer, Ole. New International Law to Protect Underwater Cultural Heritage. American Bar Association, Art & Cultural Heritage Law Newsletter I(IV):1, 25-27.

2006. Varmer, Ole. Chapter 16: United States of America. Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage: National Perspectives in Light of the UNESCO Convention 2001. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers (S. Dromgoole, ed.).

2006. Varmer, Ole. RMS Titanic. Underwater Cultural Heritage at Risk. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). pp. 14-16.

2006. Varmer, Ole and Peter Oppenheimer. Implementing the International Agreement to Protect RMS Titanic. American Bar Association, International Environmental Law Committee Newsletter 9(1):14-16.

2005. Varmer, Ole. Perspectives from Across the Atlantic. Presented in London at Society of Antiquaries Seminar, October 2005.

2005. Varmer, Ole; Suzanne Bass, and Meredith Westington. Demystifying the Maritime Zones and Other Marine Boundaries on NOAA’s Nautical Charts. Proceedings of the 14th Biennial Coastal Zone Conference, July 17-21, 2005, New Orleans, Louisiana. pp. 1-6

2001. Varmer, Ole. Tidal Datums and Their Applications. NOAA Special Publ. NOS CO-OPS 1. (contributer to sections on law and boundaries)

2000. Varmer, Ole and Caroline Blanco. Legal Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage: National and International Perspectives. Kluwer Law International, publisher (S. Dromgoole, ed.).

1999. Varmer, Ole. The Case Against the "Salvage" of the Cultural Heritage, Journal of Maritime Law and Commerce 30(2):279-302.

1998. Varmer, Ole. Should There Be Such A Thing As Treasure Salvage. 1998 Maritime Law Symposium on Sunken Treasure: Law, Technology & Ethics, Roger Williams University Law School.

1996. Zander, Caroline M. and Ole Varmer. Closing the Gaps in Domestic and International Law: Achieving Comprehensive Protection of Submerged Cultural Resources, National Park Service, Archeology Program.

1987. Varmer, Ole. The Third World’s Search for Equitable Access to the Geostationary Satellite Orbit. ILSA J. Int’l L. 11:175-197.