On, October 15-16, 2014, OR&R participated in a NRDA workshop and drill hosted by Phillips 66 in Bellingham, WA.

The event was held in conjunction with the Worst Case Discharge exercise for the Phillips 66 Ferndale, Washington refinery. NRDA participants included Phillips 66, Department of Interior, and multiple Washington state resource agencies. The half-day workshop covered a range of topics from the cooperative process to ephemeral data collection. OR&R provided a demo of the Pacific Northwest Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA®) and presented advancements in information management. In the drill, participants responded to the scenario of a 30,000 barrel release in the vicinity of the San Juan Islands. Participants developed a plan for the first month of the spill including immediate deployment to collect ephemeral data, development of technical working groups, and identification of additional exposure studies. ERMA played a key role in assisting participants in identifying resources at risk and organizing sampling events.

Contact Marla.Steinhoff@noaa.gov for more information.