OR&R Divisions

The Assessment and Restoration Division is responsible for evaluating and restoring coastal and estuarine habitats impacted by hazardous waste releases, oil spills, and vessel groundings. Comprised of NOAA biologists, toxicologists, ecologists, information specialists, geologists, environmental engineers, and economists, the division helps assess ecological risk and environmental and economic injury from contamination and ship groundings. In the wake of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Congress passed the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, which authorized OR&R to join with NOAA’s General Counsel for Natural Resources and Office of Habitat Conservation to create the Damage Assessment, Remediation and Restoration Program in 1992. This successful NOAA partnership tackles the challenges of environmental impacts to ensure marine natural resources are protected and restored. To date, the partnership and co-trustees have recovered over $10.8 billion dollars to restore a wide variety of natural resources and their human uses injured by pollution nationwide.

The Business Operations Division provides critical mission support, including budget and financial services, cost recovery, information technology, records management, human resources, grants management, and administrative and logistical support. The division plays a critical role in ensuring OR&R has the tools, resources, and infrastructure needed to address environmental threats and safeguard NOAA trust resources. Through effective financial planning and management, the division enables OR&R to allocate funding and respond rapidly to oil spills, hazardous waste releases, and other environmental emergencies. The division also oversees contracts and agreements, ensuring timely procurement of goods and services that support mission-critical activities. In addition to operational management, the division supports OR&R’s workforce by coordinating the tools, resources, and training necessary to promote strong business operations. The information technology systems and facilities that the division manages provide the strong foundation upon which OR&R’s scientific and technical expertise and efforts rely.

Nearly 40% of the U.S. population lives in coastal regions, and this percentage is expected to increase. America’s coastal environments are critical to many industries such as seafood production, tourism, and commercial trade. With increased exploration, extraction, production, and transportation of oil and gas, and more frequent and extreme environmental patterns and changing coasts, the risk of pollution increases. Major storms result in major impacts. The 2017 hurricane season — which included hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria — was the most costly hurricane season in U.S. history with damages estimated at over $200 billion. The Disaster Preparedness Program was created in 2017 to strengthen existing operational capabilities to ensure the National Ocean Service and its partners have the tools necessary to plan for and respond to disasters so commerce, communities, and natural resources can recover as quickly as possible. The program supports disaster preparedness for the National Ocean Service and our partners through planning, training, exercises, disaster coordination, and continuous improvement for an optimal preparedness posture.

Thousands of incidents occur each year, in which oil or chemicals are released into the environment as a result of accidents or natural disasters. Spills into our coastal waters and inland waterways, whether accidental or intentional, can harm people, the environment, and the economies on which we rely, causing substantial disruption of marine transportation with potential widespread economic impacts. Every year, the Emergency Response Division responds to over 150 oil and chemical spills in U.S. waters. Under the National Contingency Plan, NOAA has responsibility for providing scientific support to the federal on-scene coordinator for oil and hazardous material spills. To support this mandate, the division provides 24/7 response to spills and coastal emergencies through a team of biologists, chemists, oceanographers, mathematicians, and modelers. OR&R’s tools, models, and guidance give responders the science they depend on to protect and clean up our coasts and ocean.

Marine debris is a pervasive problem that affects us all. It is not only a threat to our coasts, ocean, Great Lakes, and waterways, but can affect human health, navigation safety, the economy, and wildlife. Since 2006, the NOAA Marine Debris Program has served as the U.S. federal government’s lead for addressing marine debris. The mission is to investigate and prevent the adverse impacts of marine debris through six main pillars: Prevention, Removal, Research, Monitoring and Detection, Response, and Coordination. Staff are positioned across the country in order to support marine debris projects and partnerships with state and local agencies, tribes, nongovernmental organizations, academia, and industry. To date, NOAA has supported over 260 marine debris removal projects and removed more than 38,000 metric tons of marine debris from our coasts and ocean.