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Greetings to OR&R and the Wider Response and Restoration Community
MARCH 20, 2020 — I hope you are well during this trying time. The Office of Response and Restoration is following public health and agency guidance in the performance of our work and in our response to COVID-19. We remain open for business, delivering our mission of protecting and restoring ocean and coastal resources from the impacts of oil, chemicals, marine debris, and other hazards.
Given the importance of increasing social distance, we are operating almost entirely remotely in our provision of expert leadership, training, and time-critical services that benefit the environment, public, and economy. While our approach to delivery has adapted to the difficult external context, the mission remains the same.
While the number of our in-person connections to customers, partners, and stakeholders has dropped with the postponement of many events, we are actively involved in the coordinated National Ocean Service response to COVID-19 through the Disaster Preparedness Program, and all of the OR&R programs are delivering services remotely and exploring different ways of leveraging technology in support of our work and community connections in the context of the current public health emergency.
If you need to reach anyone from our office, please don’t hesitate to e-mail or call your usual contacts, or reach through the various means listed on our contact page.
Take care,
Scott Lundgren
Director, Office of Response and Restoration
NOAA National Ocean Service