APRIL 15, 2016--From April 6-7, the NOAA Marine Debris Program hosted a North Carolina Regional Response Planning workshop at the NOAA Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research in Beaufort, North Carolina.

Thirty-five state, county , and non-governmental NGO representatives attended. Participants verified roles and responsibilities, permitting and compliance requirements, and identified content they would like to see in a response plan. Throughout the event, participants commented on the draft plan documents to identify any gaps or needs related to response to marine debris in North Carolina. During the event, North Carolina stakeholders noted that many existing response plans and documents lack information and clarity on acute waterway debris, making it difficult to address acute debris within state-owned waterways when there is no federal or state-declared disaster and the debris is not causing a threat to navigation or contaminated with pollutants. Participants also noted that coordination between federal, state and local agencies is important to improve the efficiency of debris response.

A draft plan for North Carolina is in progress and will include feedback captured from the recent workshop. For more information, see the Marine Debris Program’s emergency response efforts webpage.

For more information, contact Sarah.Latshaw@noaa.gov.

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