2018 Accomplishments: The Fiscal Year in Review
NOVEMBER 2, 2018 — For NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R), Fiscal Year 2018 was a year filled with new challenges and new achievements — including providing scientific support for over 200 pollution-related incidents, a prolonged response to the 2017 hurricane season, and ongoing research into the detection of oil thickness via remote sensing.
OR&R puts out an annual report as an overview of the efforts in oil and chemical spill response, shoreline restoration, marine debris reduction, disaster preparedness, and the many other tasks OR&R handled during the previous fiscal year.
"It was an extraordinary year in OR&R. From the Sixth International Marine Debris Conference to receiving the Gold Medal for our hurricane response, from our $34 million in Natural Resource Damage Assessment settlements to creation of the Disaster Preparedness Program and from improvements to our lifesaving tools to another year with over 200 incidents, this report is just a snapshot of the great things we do every day. On behalf of OR&R, I also want to thank our leadership and incredible partners, as we could not have done this without their commitment and support. As I wrap up my career in NOAA, I have been humbled and honored to witness the incredible innovation, extraordinary capability, exemplary camaraderie and extreme dedication of our team. I thank you for standing ready every day and know the future will be even brighter. I proudly present this year’s accomplishments report." ~OR&R Director Dave Westerholm