OCTOBER 30, 2015--On October 20, 2015, NOAA Corps officer LTJG Rachel Pryor and USCG officer LTJG Trevor Siperek met aboard the NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown to discuss designing a NOAA Ship “Most Probable” discharge drill scenario.

LTJG Siperek is a Federal On-scene Coordinator representative (FOSC) for Sector Puget Sound Washington and is experienced in responding to oil discharges. LTJG Pryor is a NOAA Corps officer assigned to NOS’s Office of Response and Restoration, Emergency Response Division where her primary duty is to provide scientific guidance on oil spill and hazmat clean up recommendations to the USCG. NOAA Ships regularly conduct internal drills exercising their Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Protocols (SOPEP), however, few include USCG Sector Incident Management Division responders or NOAA’s Emergency Response Division. Recent accidental discharges from NOAA Ships exposed a communication gap among the OR&R Emergency Response Division, the NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO) Environmental Compliance Office, and the NOAA Fleet. This meeting is an example of coordination between the OR&R Emergency Response Division and OMAO to ensure the NOAA Fleet is prepared to respond quickly and appropriately in case of an accidental discharge. For further information, contact Rachel.Pryor@noaa.gov. Go back to OR&R Weekly Report.