In support of the Philippines government, the U.S. National Response Team (NRT) mobilized a seven-person team, composed of six U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) specialists and one from NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R), to provide subject matter expertise in various areas of spill response. An OR&R biologist already located in the Philippines also supported the NRT.

Prior to the specialists’ deployment, OR&R provided remote support to the University of Philippines Marine Science Institute, which was using modeling tools within the General NOAA Operational Modeling Environment (GNOME) suite to estimate the fate and transport of the seeping oil. Once specialists were in-country, OR&R provided hybrid training and support to assist other Philippine agencies and organizations using GNOME for spill modeling, including the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Marine Science Investigation Force (MSIF) and the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.

In addition, the NOAA team compiled and provided the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources with seafood safety and associated outreach resources from authoritative U.S. and international sources, including NOAA, USCG, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the California Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and ITOPF Limited. Resources included seafood sampling plans, toxicity levels of concern, and reopening protocols for closed fisheries.

As part of the response, the PCG conducted Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Technique (SCAT) in several areas impacted by oil. At PCG’s request, OR&R reviewed SCAT maps created by the PCG MSIF, offered recommendations related to the maps, and explained how to aggregate SCAT data for shoreline cleanup decisions. OR&R specialists demonstrated ERMA® (Environmental Response Management Application), the tool that NOAA uses as its Common Operating Picture (COP) for spill responses. OR&R provided guidance on how PCG could improve its COP tools and shared lessons learned from its own responses.

Cleanup endpoints—when a segment of oiled shoreline has received enough treatment—are an important milestone of any oil spill. The two OR&R response specialists conducted a presentation to MSIF staff located across the country on determining appropriate shoreline cleanup endpoints, shared examples that balance shoreline cleaning with minimal disturbance to native wildlife, and discussed the benefits of including environmental agencies in the development of endpoints. OR&R also offered to provide follow-up training documentation on endpoints and help in reviewing any endpoints that MSIF staff create for this spill. Before demobilizing on August 17, OR&R provided an exit brief to the U.S. Embassy, PCG District, and the PCG Commandant.

This October and November, NOAA OR&R, with funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), will provide oil spill training to members of the Philippine government environmental agencies, primarily the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. This training will focus on SCAT and provide instruction to prepare the Philippine government for future oil spill incidents.

As the response to this spill continues, NOAA remains available to provide remote science and technical support to the Philippine government as part of the NRT effort, and welcomes opportunities for future collaboration in oil spill planning and response.