MAY 6, 2024 — On April 8, 2024, the New Jersey District Court accepted the entry of a settlement reached by NOAA and our co-trustees with Wyeth Holdings, LLC. This settlement compensates for natural resource injuries resulting from hazardous substance releases at/near the American Cyanamid Superfund Site in Bridgewater, New Jersey.
OR&R Weekly Report
The Office of Response and Restoration publishes this weekly round-up of news and information of interest to our partners, stakeholders, and team members. Click to subscribe
MAY 6, 2024 — On April 23 - 24, the Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R), led by Director Scott Lundgren, hosted a two-day tour of major restoration and debris removal projects in Washington State for Deputy Assistant Administrator for Ocean Services and Coastal Zone Management Paul Scholz. A congressional staffer for Senator Patty Murray’s (D-WA) also joined for key events.
MAY 6, 2024 — On October 25, 2023, a local power and water utility experienced a release of diesel fuel from a tank at a plant in Havensight, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. The spill of No. 2 diesel was discharged outside the tank’s secondary containment. Original spill estimates of 33,600 gallons of diesel have since been updated and calculated to be over 50,000 gallons.
MAY 6, 2024 — From April 22-29, 2024, over 2,500 participants—representing 170 governments as well as stakeholders from nongovernment organizations, academia, the private sector, the United Nations, and other international organizations—met in Ottawa, Canada, for the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4) to continue negotiations towards a new international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution.
MAY 6, 2024 — From April 23-25, OR&R staff participated in the annual meeting of the National Response Team (NRT) held in St. Louis, Missouri. The NRT provides technical assistance, resources and coordination on preparedness, planning, response and recovery activities for emergencies involving hazardous substances, pollutants and contaminants, oil, and weapons of mass destruction in natural and technological disasters and other environmental incidents of national significance.
MAY 6, 2024 — Ahead of the approaching hurricane season, the Office of Response and Restoration’s (OR&R) Disaster Preparedness Program, in conjunction with the Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC) at the University of New Hampshire, held its 5th annual Hurricane Preparedness Summit.
MAY 6, 2024 — On April 30, several members from the NOAA Marine Debris Program within the Office of Response and Restoration joined OR&R’s Scientific Support and Regional Preparedness Coordinator William Whitmore to host a Marine Debris 101 workshop for partners and stakeholders in the New England region. Roughly three dozen participants attended the 90-minute virtual workshop.
The NOAA Marine Debris Program's Chief Scientist, Amy V. Uhrin gave the keynote address at Sea Grant’s Microplastics in the Coastal Region workshop held April 8-10, 2024, in Charleston, South Carolina.
December 2022
DEC. 5, 2022 — On Nov. 17, the NOAA Marine Debris Program coordinated and presented at the bi-annual California Ocean Litter Prevention Strategy webinar. The webinar brought together over 80 partners across the state and included a diverse set of sectors including state agencies, nonprofits, policy-makers, and academia.
DEC. 5, 2022 — OR&R scientists hosted a booth at the “Scientist at Sea Research Symposium” put on by local Eckerd College to showcase student research.
DEC. 5, 2022 — On Feb.15-16, 2022, the Coastal Response Research Center and NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration co-sponsored a virtual workshop entitled “Greater Houston Area Bottlenose Dolphin Data Gaps.”
DEC. 5, 2022 — On Nov. 3, scientists from the Southeast region in OR&R’s Assessment & Restoration Division prepared to assess oil spill impacts on beaches by testing a beach porewater sampling protocol.
DEC. 5, 2022 — In late September 2022, the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) released a pre-publication version of Oil in the Sea IV: Inputs, Fate and Effects.
November 2022
NOV. 21, 2022 – The Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster took place more than a dozen years ago, beginning on April 20, 2010, but the recovery process continues to this day.
NOV. 21, 2022 — On Nov. 8, the NOAA Marine Debris Program Deputy Division Chief MaryLee Haughwout presented at a River Management Society Education Roundtable webinar titled “Talking Trash: Approaches to prevent, intercept, and remove ocean bound plastic and debris.” MaryLee shared the stage with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service colleague Glenn Constant.
NOV. 21, 2022 — On Nov. 3, the NOAA Marine Debris Program released an updated toolbox of materials to help assess marine debris on shorelines through NOAA’s Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project (MDMAP).
NOV. 21, 2022 — Recently, NOAA and the Environmental Protection Agency jointly released their annual updates for CAMEO Data Manager and Tier2 Submit™, two programs that aid emergency organizations in preparing for and responding to chemical emergencies.
NOV. 7, 2022 — On Oct. 26, representatives from NOAA’s National Ocean Service and the Marine Debris Program, within NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration, presented to more than 200 middle and high school students at a unique field trip opportunity in Washington D.C.
NOV. 7, 2022 — Two significant oil spills that occurred in the late 1980s—the barge Nestucca, which spilled more than 230,000 gallons of No. 6 fuel oil into the Pacific Ocean near Grays Harbor, Washington, and the Exxon Valdez spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska—led to the formation of an oil spill task force in 1989 between Washington State and British Columbia.
NOAA Marine Debris Program Joins Sustainability Leaders on the Water to Discuss Microfiber Pollution
NOV. 7, 2022 — On Oct. 27, NOAA Marine Debris Program staff attended Materevolve’s Textiles x Ocean Connector Sail Event in San Francisco Bay, California. The goal of the event was to bring sustainability leaders together to discuss important topics at the intersection of textiles and ocean.
NOV. 7, 2022 — The Office of Response and Restoration recently participated in the final of four multi-agency hotwashes to debrief the F/V Aleutian Isle sinking incident that occurred in the San Juan Islands in the state of Washington.
NOV. 7, 2022 — For the first time in three years, U.S. Coast Guard District 9 held an Incident Management Team round-up training event in Camp Grayling, Michigan.
October 2022
OCT. 31, 2022 — Nearly half of all Americans are exposed to potentially damaging earthquakes where they work and live. Still, others will be at risk when traveling. It’s a good idea for everyone, everywhere to know how to protect themselves during an earthquake.
OCT. 24, 2022 — On Oct. 13, Christy Kehoe, the California regional coordinator for the NOAA’s Marine Debris Program, within the Office of Response and Restoration, presented at the virtual California State University Channel Islands Women in Conservation Session Speaker Series.
OCT. 24, 2022 — On Oct. 6, Andrew Mason, the Pacific Northwest regional coordinator for NOAA's Marine Debris Program shared his NOAA career story, including that of starting as an intern before becoming a contractor and eventually a federal employee, with seniors from Highline High School in the Seattle area.
OCT. 24, 2022 — A new map synthesizes more than 30 years of NOAA oil spill and hazardous waste pollution settlements. In total, NOAA has helped recover $10.6 billion for restoration from settlements across the United States.
OCT. 24, 2022 — In early October, OR&R Director Scott Lundgren, along with several OR&R scientists, traveled to Halifax, Nova Scotia to participate in the International Oil Spill Science conference. This conference was an in-depth scientific conference capping the first phase of the Canada Multi-Partner Research Initiative funded under Canada's Oceans Protection Plan.
OCT. 21, 2022 — On Oct. 19-20, OR&R was represented by Scott Lundgren, Aaron Parker, and LT Steven Wall at two information exchange forums with the oil spill response community.
OCT. 17, 2022 — Approximately one year ago on Oct. 1, 2021, the Pipeline P00547 (Huntington Beach) oil spill occurred in Southern California. An underwater pipeline running from Platform Elly to Long Beach spilled an estimated 25,000 gallons of crude oil into San Pedro Bay.
OCT. 17, 2022 — With a team of instructors led by Scientific Support Coordinator Frank Csulak, NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration hosted a Science of Oil Spills class in the mid-Atlantic region the week of Sept. 12, 2022.
OCT. 17, 2022 — On Oct. 6, the NOAA Marine Debris Program, within the Office of Response and Restoration, proudly announced that the 2023 Marine Debris Calendar is now available for download!
OCT. 17, 2022 — From Sept. 27-28, the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP), within the Office of Response and Restoration, participated in the Virginia Marine Debris Summit hosted in Virginia Beach, Virginia. This gathering brought together local, state, and federal marine debris and plastic pollution experts in focused discussion around tackling the challenges of consumer debris throughout the commonwealth.
OCT. 17, 2022 — On Sept. 27, the NOAA Marine Debris Program Alaska Regional Coordinator Peter Murphy presented as part of a NOAA Live! webinar titled “Keeping Alaska's Coastline Clean: What You Can Do about Marine Debris in Your Community.”
OCT. 17, 2022 — Sept. 21-22, 2022 marked the inaugural workshop welcoming the establishment of the U.S. Coast Guard National Center of Expertise for the Great Lakes. The workshop convened NCOE stakeholders who shared information about current research projects, identified research gaps, and prioritized opportunities to advance oil spill response capabilities in the Great Lakes.
OCT. 17, 2022 — OR&R biologist and Environmental Sensitivity Index Program Manager Nicolle Rutherford presented at a series of conferences and workshops in September to share the benefits and uses of Environmental Sensitivity Index maps and data.
OCT. 17, 2022 — Following the 7th International Marine Debris Conference, held Sept. 19-23 in Busan, South Korea, NOAA Marine Debris Program Chief Scientist Amy V. Uhrin was invited to tour the facilities at the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology's South Sea Research Institute on Geoje Island, South Korea.