MAY 19, 2017--On May 10 -11, an industry-led oil spill drill was conducted involving the collision of a Chevron oil tanker and another ship 50 miles northwest of San Diego, CA.

This drill simulated the release of 50,000 barrels (2.1 million gallons) of Arabian crude oil, which threatened coastal waters and shorelines from Oceanside to San Diego.

OR&R’s Emergency Response Division provided oil fate and transport estimates, input on the potential use of Applied Response Technologies (dispersants and in-situ burning,), salvage support, discussions on the use of drones, and other aspects of scientific support to the USCG and others within the cooperative response.

Working in parallel to the containment and cleanup activities, OR&R’s Assessment and Restoration Division participated with Chevron and state and federal trustees to drill scenarios for Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA). The Trustees included a marine mammal component and specialists from NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center and NOAA Fisheries Western Regional Office's Protected Resources Division to provide their special expertise. Marine mammal discussions were productive and relevant for future spill events.

In addition, NOAA’s Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA) was used as the agency Common Operating Picture (COP) to depict incident data along with Chevron's COP. Datasets were shared between the two systems via web mapping services (WMS) and included trajectories, oil and wildlife observations, on-water cleanup, protection of sensitive resources, safety zones, and others for briefings to the Unified Command and to support efficient decision-making in the Environmental Unit and for NRDA activities.

For more information, contact Jordan.Stout@noaa.gov or Laurie.Sullivan@noaa.gov.

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