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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
The 2027 edition of the NOAA Marine Debris Calendar highlights 13 winning entries selected from the past 16 years of the annual “Keep the Sea Free of Debris!” Art Contest. These artworks, created by K–8 students from across the United States and its territories, showcase the creativity and dedication of young ocean advocates working to keep our ocean and Great Lakes clean.
The natural resource trustees for the Weyerhaeuser Plymouth Mill case have released a Draft Phase 2 Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment. They seek public comment on proposed restoration projects that would compensate the public for injuries to fish, aquatic habitat, and recreational fishing caused by releases of hazardous substances from the former Plymouth Mill in Plymouth, North Carolina. Public comment is open until October 16, 2026.
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For over 40 years, NOAA’s Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps have guided emergency responders in protecting vulnerable shorelines. Discover how these critical maps evolved from heavy paper atlases into real-time, interactive digital geodatabases, pinpointing sensitive ecosystems before crisis hits to ensure rapid, targeted action.