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Arctic Preparedness Briefing for NOAA Executive Leadership Council

JUNE 26, 2015--On June 26, 2015, NOAA OR&R staff joined with staff from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the NOAA Homeland Security Program Office (HSPO) to brief the senior NOAA leadership on on-going preparedness activities for the 2015 oil exploration season about to begin in the Arctic.

On June 10, 2015, the drilling rig Polar Pioneer left Seattle and is expected to reach Dutch Harbor, Alaska, on June 27. The drilling rig will join a flotilla of other drilling and support vessels and proceed through the Bering Strait to the Chukchi Sea lease sites in early July. Exploration activities are expected to continue through September. The briefing employed the Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA®) to help visualize the current status of the Shell and NOAA vessels in Alaska, the current ice edge, the location of the lease sites, and the geography and natural resources at risk in the region.

For more information, contact Dave.Westerholm@noaa.gov, Kate.Clark@noaa.gov, or Doug.Helton@noaa.gov.

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Last updated Tuesday, November 8, 2022 1:53pm PST