On May 21-22, 2014, a large-scale industry-led oil spill drill was conducted involving the collision of a container ship and a Chevron tanker 30 miles off the coast of Oceanside, CA.

This drill simulated the release of 64,500 barrels (~2.7 million gallons) of crude and heavy fuel oils, which threatened coastal waters and shorelines of Southern CA. Eleven NOAA staff from OR&R, NMFS Protected Resources Division and the National Weather Service participated in both the Response and NRDA sides of the hypothetical incident. During the course of the drill, ERMA® (Environmental Response Management Application) displayed incident-specific information that drove critical Response decisions including salvage, vessel lightering, resource at risk evaluations, wildlife operations, dispersant use, in-situ burning, and shoreline protection strategy deployments.

Simultaneously, ERMA provided the same scenario and response-related information to a separate NRDA Command Post, where Natural Resource Trustees and Chevron worked to delineate potential exposure pathways and effects of oil to natural resources, identify local expertise, and prioritize data collection efforts (ephemeral data). On the second day of the drill the trustees and Chevron deployed to the field to take samples of water, sediment, and whole mussels as would likely happen during an actual spill. In addition to the sampling activities, Assessment and Restoration Division data management tested sampling forms and efficient data capture procedures. After the drill, NRDA participants discussed strengths and weaknesses, strategies, improvements in early NRDA planning and additional training needs to better prepare us for an actual oil spill.

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

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