OR&R's Trajectory Analysis Planner (TAP), software that estimates the probability an oil spill from potential sources might threaten a shoreline, recently expanded to include Lake Erie. With funding from and in collaboration with the U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes Oil Spill Center of Expertise, OR&R developed the new Lake Erie TAP simulating spills from 20 potential spill sites in the Lake Erie area—including 13 shoreline sites where oil is stored or transferred and seven sites in shipping lanes where incidents could occur. TAP analyzes hundreds of oil trajectory runs of OR&R's GNOME oil spill modeling tool, integrated with wind and water current modeling. An important advancement for Lake Erie TAP is that modeling also includes the effects of ice on oil transport. Ice cover, shown to limit the transport and weathering of spilled oil, is highly variable on Lake Erie. Including ice concentration over a long time record into TAP analysis aids in the development of realistic local-area contingency plans for oil spill response. An important product within OR&R's suite of oil spill response and planning tools, TAP helps the U.S. Coast Guard and state and local responders prepare for and limit damage to the environment from potential oil spill accidents. This latest TAP project joins several other related advancements in the Great Lakes region. Oil spill responders and planners can view Lake Erie TAP within the WebTAP viewer.

Last year, OR&R provided scientific support for 177 new marine pollution and coastal emergencies, including 133 oil spills, 19 chemical spills, and 25 other incidents—such as severe storms, marine debris, and adrift whale carcasses. Cumulatively, OR&R supported response to these 2024 incidents that with good volume estimates, posed a risk of more than 45 million gallons of oil and over 27,000 tons of various chemicals. Take a look back at OR&R's 2024 response efforts.

The Oahu Sugar Trustee Council (NOAA and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) announced the release of two Restoration Plans/Environmental Assessments for the Oahu Sugar Site, located in Pearl Harbor (Pu’uloa), Oahu. The Plans outline two proposed restoration projects designed to compensate the public for lost, injured, or destroyed natural resources and associated services due to releases of hazardous substances from the Site. The NOAA Draft Restoration Plan/National Environmental Policy Act Evaluation is open for review and public comment period until Wednesday, February 26, 2025. NOAA will also be holding an in-person Public Meeting as an open house format in Waipahu, Hawai‘i on January 29, 2025 to share the details of the proposed project.