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Tracing our operational roots back 50 years, NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration safeguards coastal communities, economies, and ecosystems from oil and chemical spills, marine debris, and natural disasters. Discover how we protect and restore our ocean and coasts—from our foundational history to future innovations. Over the next year, we're highlighting stories on how our work and technologies have evolved to address coastal threats and prepare for future challenges.
Supporting Clean, Healthy Coasts and Economies
Prepare • Respond • Restore • Recover
OR&R Services
Disaster and Pollution
OR&R delivers critical services to address increasing impacts from disasters and from pollution due to oil, chemicals, and marine debris. Our pollution and disaster mandates provide the backbone for our mission to the changing nature of coastal threats and hazards, which impact our coastal communities and the economies on which they rely.
Oil and Chemical Spill Response
OR&R provides scientific support to over 150 oil and chemical spills in U.S. waters annually. Spills impact lives, property, and public natural resources, as well as disrupt marine transportation with widespread economic impacts.
Oil and Chemical Natural Resource Restoration
OR&R and partners assess the impacts of oil spill and industrial pollution incidents and reach legal settlements with those responsible to fund restoration. Over the past 30+ years, NOAA and co-trustees have helped recover $10.8 billion for restoration of injured resources across the country.
Marine Debris Prevention and Removal
OR&R investigates and prevents the adverse impacts of marine debris. Since 2006, we have supported over 260 marine debris removal projects and removed more than 38,000 metric tons of marine debris from our coasts and ocean.
Emergency and Disaster Preparedness
Through planning, training, exercises, disaster coordination, and continuous improvement, OR&R ensures the National Ocean Service and its partners have the tools and information necessary to plan for and respond to disasters so commerce, communities, and natural resources can recover as quickly as possible.
Featured News
While some marine debris can be picked up by hand, removing large-scale debris requires cranes, divers, flotation devices, or even helicopters. Learn how work has evolved to address marine debris across the country, from lost fishing gear to abandoned vessels and decades-old coastal structures. Investments in these projects support the removal of millions of pounds of marine debris, help communities recover from disasters, improve navigational safety, create jobs, and restore vital habitats.
Follow the life cycle of a lost lobster trap, from working gear to marine debris, through recovery, recycling, repurposing, and proper disposal. Learn how collaboration among nonprofit organizations, commercial fishers, state agencies, volunteers, and coastal communities is helping reduce the impacts of marine debris while contributing to a cleaner Gulf of Maine.
This summer, General Recycling of Washington (General Recycling) completed construction of a 2.8-acre restoration project along the Lower Duwamish River to restore habitat for Chinook salmon, shorebirds, and other wildlife. The off-channel marsh, intertidal, and riparian habitats will help support the recovery of these natural resources harmed by decades of contamination in this industrial waterway.