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Participants and instructors in the Science of Oil Spills (SOS) class gathered on a beach for a photo in Mobile, Alabama.

MARCH 25, 2024 — During the week of March 18, oil spill specialists from OR&R’s Emergency Response Division conducted a Science of Oil Spills (SOS) class for the Southern region in Mobile, Alabama. SOS classes aim to help spill responders increase their understanding of oil spill science when analyzing spills and making risk-based decisions. 

Instructor teaching NOAA Specific ICS 300 Class.

MARCH 25, 2024 — During the week of March 11, OR&R’s Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) held a three-day NOAA-specific Incident Command System 300 (ICS 300) Level Training at NOAA’s Inouye Regional Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. This training was the first in-person NOAA ICS 300 class since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. During the interim, the class has been held virtually to ensure NOAA staff are trained in ICS 300.

Handbook for the PREP (Preparedness for Response Exercise Program) Functional Exercise held by Sector San Juan Area Contingency Plan in March 2024.

MARCH 25, 2024 — OR&R’s Brad Benggio, the NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator (SSC) assigned to the U.S. Coast Guard’s (USCG) Seventh District in Miami, Florida, recently participated in a tabletop oil spill exercise in Ponce, Puerto Rico to support emergency response training.

Discarded balloons located on remote Channel Islands off the coast of California.

MARCH 25, 2024 — On March 14, the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) wrapped up a month of partner-led virtual workgroup meetings to discuss the California Ocean Litter Strategy (OLS). The meetings brought together over 75 partners from across the state and included a diverse set of sectors, including state agencies, nonprofits, private organizations, and academia.

Timor Leste oil spill response workshop participants visit a sea turtle egg and hatchling protection facility, operated by the Timor Port, March 21, 2024.

MARCH 25, 2024 — OR&R’s Ruth Yender, the NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator for Oceania, assisted with an oil spill response workshop sponsored by U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM), held in Dili, Timor-Leste from March 18–22. The workshop was intended to assist Timor-Leste agencies as they develop national level emergency response plans. 

NOAA MDP Southeast Regional Coordinator, Caroline Morris and partners at a site visit on derelict vessel.

MARCH 25, 2024 — On March 15, 2024, NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) staff met on Harkers Island, North Carolina with North Carolina Coastal Federation (NCCF) grantees and staff from the offices of U.S. Senators Tom Tillis and Ted Budd to share highlights of their derelict vessel removal project supported by Inflation Reduction Act funds.