May 12, 2025

An ERMA dashboard displaying active cases from NOAA’s Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program.
An ERMA® dashboard displaying active cases from NOAA’s Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program. Image credit: NOAA.

What’s New in ERMA®: Service Feeds, Dashboard Enhancements, and More

The latest version of NOAA's Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA) is now available. Supporting over 20,000 users a year, ERMA provides a common operating picture for emergency responders and decision-makers during environmental disaster response, cleanup, and damage assessment. With the latest release, browse a host of optimized features, like enhanced capabilities for data display, analysis and processing, and more. 

Draft Avian Study Plan at Diamond Alkali Superfund Site in New Jersey Released

As part of the ongoing natural resource damage assessment and restoration at the Diamond Alkali Superfund Site, the Department of Interior (DOI) released a draft study plan to evaluate potential injuries to song birds exposed to hazardous substances associated with the site in New Jersey and New York. The site provides important habitat for a variety of bird species and exposure to hazardous substances through their diet may result in adverse effects on reproductive success or altered breeding behavior. The study is designed to inform the natural resource damage assessment being performed by NOAA and DOI and may guide future efforts related to injury assessment and restoration planning. The draft study plan is now open for public comment until May 22, 2025.

Screenshot of a virtual meeting taking place from a laptop screen, with five panelists logged into the meeting in separate cells towards the top of the screen, and a presentation slide being shared with the words 'Wrapping Up' embedded.
6th Annual NOAA Hurricane Preparedness Summit. Image credit: NOAA.

6th Annual Hurricane Summit Prepares NOAA for 2025 Season

As hurricane season approaches, the Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) hosted its annual hurricane preparedness summit to continue building upon its culture of preparedness. OR&R’s Disaster Preparedness Program, in conjunction with the Coastal Response Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, held its 6th annual two-day Hurricane Preparedness Summit from April 23-24, 2025. The virtual event focused on NOAA’s hurricane preparedness and readiness for personnel, mission, and infrastructure. The presentations communicated best practices and lessons learned from the 2024 hurricane season and recognized future challenges that may arise with the 2025 season. The 2024 season saw several major landfalling hurricanes, and conditions are favorable for another active hurricane season in 2025. The summit helps prepare NOAA employees for any possible challenges that may arise this hurricane season.

 

Web Highlight

An overflight displays the affected area of marsh environment near Garden Island Bay, Louisiana on April 27, 2025. A safety zone has been enacted in the area and boom has been placed to contain the released product. Credit: U.S. Coast Guard.

Well #59 Incident Response

OR&R is aiding in the U.S. Coast Guard's response to the Well #59 Incident, an oil and natural gas release in a marsh environment in Plaquemines Parish, southeast of New Orleans, Louisiana. Our team is providing on-scene scientific support, including providing oil spill trajectory analyses and forecasts, identifying potential resources at risk, assisting with overflights of the spill, and integrating aerial and on-water observations into spatial maps for use by responders.

Caption: An overflight displays the affected area of marsh environment near Garden Island Bay, Louisiana on April 27, 2025. A safety zone has been enacted in the area and boom has been placed to contain the released product. Credit: U.S. Coast Guard.
Last updated Monday, May 12, 2025 8:33am PDT