OCTOBER 14, 2016--Last week, OR&R's Dr. Amy Merten participated in the Arctic Council Senior Arctic Officials Meeting as her role as Chair of the EPPR Working Group.

Dr. Merten presented the results of the international oil spill response exercise conducted as required by the binding agreement on Cooperation on Marine Oil Pollution Preparedness and Response in the Arctic (MOSPA).The objective of the MOSPA Agreement is to strengthen cooperation, coordination and mutual assistance among the Parties on oil pollution preparedness and response in the Arctic to protect the marine environment from pollution by oil.

EPPR has the responsibility to exercise the agreement bi-annually and the leadership follows the overall Arctic Council Chairmanship. The U.S. Coast Guard led this cycle and developed a multi-phased process to streamline exercises in the future and maximize the ability to build on lessons learned. Dr. Merten also highlighted EPPR projects on oil spill preparedness and response, oil pollution prevention, search and rescue. The next Senior Arctic Officials meeting will be held in Juneau, AK, March 8-9, 2017.

The next EPPR meeting will be held in Copenhagen, Denmark, December 7-8, 2016.

For more information, please see the Arctic Council / Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response (EPPR) website or contact Amy.Merten@noaa.gov.

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