Back to top

NOAA and Co-trustees Release the Final Programmatic Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment for the 2003 B-120 Buzzards Bay Oil Spill

NOAA and co-trustee agencies including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Commonwealth of Massachusetts and State of Rhode Island have released the Final Programmatic Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment for the B-120 Buzzards Bay Oil Spill.

This plan includes using $4.25M in settlement funds for 19 projects in MA and RI to address shoreline and aquatic resource injuries and lost recreational coastal access and uses.

Projects include marsh restoration, conservation mooring installation, dam removal, walking trails and access improvements, land acquisition for public access and use, boat ramp reconstruction and multiple municipal projects for restoring or enhancing quahog, bay scallop, and oyster populations and recreational shellfishing.

Bay with marshes.
Kayaking on salt marsh creek, Buzzards Bay environment. (NOAA)
Background

On April 27, 2003, Bouchard Barge 120 hit an obstacle in Buzzards Bay, creating a 12-foot rupture in its hull and spilling an estimated 98,000 gallons of No. 6 oil. The oil affected more than 98 miles of shoreline, aquatic intertidal and subtidal habitats, numerous bird species, and public recreational uses of the Bay, such as shellfishing, general shoreline use, and boating.

For more information contact Katie.Wagner@noaa.gov.

Go back to OR&R Weekly Report.

Last updated Tuesday, November 8, 2022 1:54pm PST