An official website of the United States government.
NOV. 25, 2024 — In mid-November 2024, a Scientific Support Coordinator from OR&R’s Emergency Response Division participated in a Republic of Korea - U.S. Joint Maritime Oil Spill Response Subject Matter Expert Exchange Workshop held in Busan, Republic of Korea (ROK).
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
NOV. 25, 2024 — On November 5-7, Texas and federal trustees met at the Fisheries Center in Athens, Texas for the bi-annual Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) Texas Trustee Summit. Trustees included members from NOAA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Department of Interior, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Texas Office of Attorney General, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and Texas General Land Office.
NOV. 25, 2024 - Staff from the NOAA Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R)’s Disaster Preparedness Program and Emergency Response Division attended the first in-person convening of the Coastal Inundation Community of Practice in Seattle, Washington from November 12-15, 2024.
NOV. 25, 2024 — On October 22-23, the NOAA Marine Debris Program within the Office of Response and Restoration hosted an in-person workshop for participants of the Washington Marine Debris Action Plan.
NOV. 22, 2024 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) jointly released their annual updates for CAMEO Data Manager and Tier2 Submit™, two programs that aid users in meeting regulatory filing and emergency response planning efforts under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA).
NOV. 25, 2024 — Over the past several weeks, OR&R scientists across the country have explained oil spill response practices and technologies to students participating in the First Lego League, a research and robotics tournament for 9-16 year-old students. At least five different OR&R scientists have met with no less than seven different school groups—and the requests keep coming in!
January 2023
JAN. 30, 2023 — The Office of Response and Restoration is gearing up for a busy year of training! We are excited to be back in-person, with our classic and most popular Science of Oil Spills (SOS) classes being offered in three locations across the country this year:
JAN. 30, 2023 — On Jan. 25, 2023, the NOAA Marine Debris Program California regional coordinator presented at the Center for Watershed Protection 2023 Watershed and Stormwater Webcast Series.
JAN. 30, 2023 —On Jan. 26, 2023, the NOAA Marine Debris Program, within the Office of Response and Restoration, released its 2022 Accomplishments Report.
JAN. 30, 2023 — After a public comment period, on Jan. 25, 2023 a settlement was finalized to resolve claims related to hazardous waste pollution from the du Pont de Nemours and Company (Dupont Hay Road) site on the Delaware River in Wilmington, Delaware.
JAN. 30, 2023 — Two virtual public meetings were held on Jan. 25, 2023, to inform the public about the status of the natural resource damage assessment being conducted for the Pipeline P00547 oil spill off of the coast of Huntington Beach, California. Restoration project ideas were also solicited.
JAN. 23, 2023 — Christy Kehoe, regional coordinator for California in NOAA's Marine Debris Program, within the Office of Response and Restoration, presented at the National Fisheries Institute Seafood Science and Regulatory Forum to kick off the Global Seafood Market Conference on Jan. 15.
JAN. 23, 2023 — The Gulf of Mexico Alliance’s Marine Debris Cross-Team Initiative held its annual two-day meeting on Jan. 10-11 to bring together entities from across the gulf that currently address marine debris issues.
JAN. 23, 2023 — NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration and the University of New Hampshire’s Coastal Response Research Center hosted a virtual workshop on harmful algal blooms on Jan. 17-18. The primary focus of the workshop was communication, preparedness, and response — across the federal government, state agencies, and other key partners — for harmful algal blooms in the Great Lakes region.
Opportunity to Provide Input on Restoration for the Pipeline P00547 Oil Spill in Southern California
JAN. 13, 2023 — The public is invited to two virtual meetings to learn about efforts to assess the impacts of an October 2021 oil spill and solicit input for potential restoration actions. The meetings, scheduled for Jan. 25, 2023, will be hosted by state and federal trustee agencies for natural resources impacted by the Pipeline P00547 oil spill off the coast of Huntington Beach in Southern California.
JAN. 13, 2023 — On Dec. 20, 2022 a settlement was proposed to resolve claims related to the hazardous waste pollution from the du Pont de Nemours and Company (Dupont Hay Road) site on the Delaware River in Wilmington, Delaware. Of the total settlement of $1,071,755.84, $808,500 is proposed for restoration activities and $263,255.84 will be allocated to the natural resource trustees for reimbursement of their natural resource damages assessment costs.
In 2022, NOAA helped to recover over $114 million from polluters to restore six waterways following oil spill and industrial pollution incidents in Hawaii, Louisiana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
JAN. 13, 2023 — On Dec. 13, after a busy fall season of incident response, members of the Incident Management Division of U.S. Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound visited the NOAA Western Regional Center in Seattle.
December 2022
DEC. 19, 2022 — After plowing a path of destruction through the Caribbean, Hurricane Ian struck Florida on Sept. 28 and moved up the East Coast, with damaging winds, severe flooding, and life-threatening storm surge.
DEC. 19, 2022 — On Dec. 13, following a competitive review process, the NOAA Marine Debris Program and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation announced the five recipients of the 2022 Hurricane Response Marine Debris Removal Fund.
DEC. 19, 2022 — On Dec. 5-9, the NOAA Marine Debris Program, in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Trash Free Waters Program, hosted a virtual workshop to identify actions and strategies for the implementation of the Puerto Rico Strategic Plan to Reduce Aquatic Debris.
DEC. 19, 2022 — On Dec. 7, the 2022 Hawai‘i Marine Debris Action Plan Research Webinar Series concluded after taking place throughout November and December.
DEC. 19, 2022 — Extreme heat is one of the leading causes of weather-related illness and death in the United States, causing more fatalities in a typical year than hurricanes, tornadoes, severe storms, and floods. As climate change continues to increase the likelihood of weather extremes, the impacts of heat on communities—especially on their most vulnerable citizens—is likely to worsen.
DEC. 12, 2022 — On Nov. 29, the 2022 Young Pacific Leaders cohort visited the Inouye Regional Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, for a facility tour and presentations from NOAA team members. The Young Pacific Leaders Program is organized by the U.S. government and aims to build the leadership capabilities of youth in the region and strengthen ties between the United States and the Pacific.
DEC. 12, 2022 — On Nov. 22 2022, the Journal of Benefit Cost Analysis published “Discounting in Natural Resource Damage Assessment '' by OR&R’s economists Cameron Duff, Chris Giguere, and Jason Murray, and co-authors from Industrial Economics and the University of Wisconsin.
DEC. 12, 2022 — The Office of Response and Restoration Disaster Preparedness Program serves a vital role for the National Ocean Service’s preparedness and continuity of operations planning. This November, the program celebrated a major milestone — five years of preparing partners and communities to respond to and recover from disasters. Their work is growing in importance and demand as coastal disasters become more frequent and severe.
DEC. 12, 2022 — In early October, NOAA OR&R scientists participated in a functional tabletop exercise in Anacortes, Washington. The purpose of the exercise was to demonstrate the capability of the oil industry and other agencies working together to develop an oil spill response plan that is used to minimize and mitigate the impacts of an oil spill.
DEC. 12, 2022 — Last week, NOAA OR&R and NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service’s Pacific Regional Office, in collaboration with U.S. Coast Guard District 14, hosted an Environmental Consultation Seminar in Honolulu, Hawaii.
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 — 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.
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 – The Office of Response and Restoration attended the 2022 Clean Gulf Conference in New Orleans from Nov. 8-10, with representation from the director, senior scientist, scientific support coordinators and scientists, and Assessment and Restoration staff.
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 — OR&R scientists hosted a booth at the “Scientist at Sea Research Symposium” put on by local Eckerd College to showcase student research.
November 2022
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 – 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.