The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 significantly improved measures to prevent, prepare for, and respond to oil spills in U.S. waters.

This historic legislation gives NOAA and other agencies the authority to address impacts to natural resources caused by oil spills in U.S. waters and shorelines, and to hold polluters accountable.

Congress passed this legislation, and President George H.W. Bush signed it into law on Aug. 18, 1990.

Thirty years later, we’re looking back at the events leading up to the passage of the Oil Pollution Act, what’s happened since then, and how NOAA and its partners continue to keep our nation’s coast clean from the threat of oil pollution under this important historic legislation. 

This month, tune in below as we share blogs, story maps, and more to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Oil Pollution Act. 

When Boats Don’t Float: How the NOAA Marine Debris Program Works to Remove Sunken Vessels

While oil spills and marine debris are hardly synonymous, when it comes to abandoned and derelict vessels, the two worlds often meet. In this blog, learn more about how OR&R's Marine Debris program helps keep our nation's coasts clean from threats of oil pollution. Read the full blog here. 

Story Map: Examining the Oil Pollution Act’s Legacy Through 30 Oil Spills

The legacy of the Oil Pollution Act is that it remains as important in 2020 as it was in 1990. In our latest story map, explore 30 spills from the past 30 years that highlight the importance of this historic oil pollution legislation. View the story map here.

The Oil Pollution Act of 1990: A History of Spills and Legislation

Though a unique and historic piece of legislation, the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 was not the first of its kind. Learn more about the various iterations of oil pollution legislation and the spills that inspired them in this blog by marine biologist Gary Shigenaka. Read the full blog here.

Argo Merchant: What if It Happened Today?

The history of our office began in 1976 with the grounding of the tanker Argo Merchant near Nantucket Shoals in Massachusetts. But what if the Argo Merchant happened today, with the protections and preventative measures offered by the Oil Pollution Act? Read the full blog here.

Keeping the Oil Pollution Act Updated

On Aug. 18, 1990, President H.W. Bush signed the Oil Pollution Act. The act gave NOAA and other agencies improved authorities for spill prevention, response, and restoration in the nation’s navigable waters and shorelines. Like many other laws, it has been subject to various amendments over time to address emerging issues or to strengthen or clarify the original law. Read the full blog here.

Who Pays for Oil Spills?

After every major oil spill, one question comes up again and again: Who is going to pay for this mess? While the American public and the environment pay the ultimate price (metaphorically speaking), the polluter most often foots the bill for cleanup, response, and restoration after oil spills. In sum: You break it, you buy it. Read the full blog here.

An Oil Spill’s Silver Lining, 30 Years Since Exxon Valdez

When an oil spill happens, whoever is responsible pays for the cleanup and restoration. But this has not always been the case. Thirty years ago, on March 24, 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez grounded on Bligh Reef, rupturing its hull and spilling almost 11 million gallons of crude oil into Alaska’s Prince William Sound. Read the full blog here.

Story Map: The Spills Behind the Oil Pollution Act

Exxon Valdez wasn't the only big spill of 1989. Between June 23 and 24, three different oil tankers accidentally poured their cargo into U.S. coastal waters. Learn about how the spills of 1989 influenced the work that NOAA does today to respond to and restore the environment after oil spills in this story map.

The True Cost of an Oil Spill: Q&A with a NOAA Economist

The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 made a huge shift in how we do natural resource damage assessment. One of the primary roles of damage assessment is to determine the cost of an oil spill. To learn more about how we assess the true cost of an oil spill, read the full blog here.

Having worked at NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration for more than 10 years, Jessica White has seen, firsthand, how the office’s many roles in coastal disaster response continue to grow. When she first began her career here at NOAA, Jessica worked in the Coastal Protection and Restoration Division—what would later become the Assessment and Restoration Division. 

A native Texan, Jessica received her bachelor’s degree from Texas Tech University. It was during her undergraduate studies as a biology major that she took her first toxicology class. 

“I was hooked,” she said. “That combination between biology and chemistry I thought was really fascinating, so I decided that’s the science that I wanted to pursue in a master’s program.” 

Jessica continued her studies at the University of North Texas, and after completing her master’s degree in 2003 began looking for a job. It was through the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education that she found a job posting at NOAA for a coastal regional coordinator position based out of Dallas. 

In her role, Jessica spent the bulk of her time working on Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) issues for coastal hazardous waste sites in Texas and Louisiana—though she also had the opportunity to work on other projects, including cleanup of post-hurricane HAZMAT debris and coordination of field operations. 

“I had a great time working in ARD [the Assessment and Restoration Division] for many, many years on the Gulf Coast and worked on everything from hurricane debris cleanup to traditional hazardous waste site NRDA work. For me, and many other people, the big turning point was the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Initially I started out supporting ARD, and moved to supporting ERD [the Emergency Response Division], and then back again. After a few years of working on that case, I realized the NRDA world was very different. I decided it was time for a change,” Jessica said. 

Jessica had moved from Dallas to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to be closer to the Deepwater Horizon response. NOAA’s Gulf of Mexico Disaster Response Center had just opened up in Mobile, Alabama around that time, and was working to recruit people within OR&R. It was the perfect opportunity for Jessica to try something new. Within a year, the deputy director for the facility retired, and Jessica applied. It was the welcome change she was looking for and she’s been there ever since. 

In her current role as the deputy director at the Disaster Response Center, she helps maintain the facility and coordinate various projects with partners. 

“It has been quite a deviation from my previous work experience, but I enjoy developing both new relationships with key stakeholders and new skills, such as contracting,” she said. 

Jessica said the most challenging part of the job is running a government-owned facility. 

“Everything is on us, so when the fire alarm sends out a trouble signal at 2 o’clock in the morning, I get a call,” she said. “Because it’s a government facility, we have a huge responsibility for maintaining it. It’s meant to be a location for NOAA to always be able to provide our services. It’s open before, during, and after a storm. We have large generators that can power the facility for about two weeks if we lose municipal power, the facility is built to withstand a storm, and a larger internet connection that is more resilient to storm outages. My role really revolves around the continuity of operations and maintaining our ability to provide services during critical times, and also looking for ways to improve the facility.” 

Every year hurricane season begins in June and ends in November. This year NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center has forecasted that it will be a potentially busy year with approximately 13 to 19 named storms, of which three to six could be major hurricanes.  

The Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) plays an important role during hurricane response. Historically, OR&R works with the U.S. Coast Guard, Environmental Protection Agency, and other state and federal agencies to track storm related debris and mitigate any storm related spills. Leveraging tools like the Environmental Response Management Application, ERMA®, post-storm response operations can be visualized in real time via the map interface or through interactive dashboard displays. 

Technology will play an even more important role this year, as ERMA® data managers can work remotely to support onscene efforts through data streams. To help ensure remote operations are possible, OR&R is working with the EPA, Natural Disaster Operational Workgroup, and other agencies to prepare for the 2020 hurricane season. ERMA® is testing out the secure data transfer between partners to ensure data flow will happen seamlessly through remote table top exercises. 

To learn more, view the live map here.

“Whatever you accomplish, it’s never by yourself. There are always people who lift you up and help you," said Laurie Sullivan while reflecting on her career in marine science, more than 25 years of which has been with NOAA. However, in hearing Laurie’s story—which starts in California, but spans across states and continents before circling home—it’s undeniable that her work ethic and versatility were important factors too.

The youngest of six children, Laurie and her siblings grew up outside of San Francisco, California in a household full of music. Her mother loved to play the piano and “forced/encouraged” each of her children to learn an instrument. This sparked Laurie’s lifelong love of the violin. In addition to her artistic talents Laurie did well in math and science, and was accepted to University of California Berkeley.

Tragically, Laurie’s mother passed away right before she started college. With remarkable resilience she managed to mostly finance her own education and find her niche at Berkeley. By sharing a room with a friend for $75 a month, working at a pizza joint, and balancing a competitive crew team schedule with increasingly demanding classes; Laurie made it work. While Laurie initially studied microbiology, she realized it wasn't the right fit.

“I was walking to sign up for medical microbio when I walked past the algae lab, where people were laughing and chatting, totally engaged in the class. Also, as I thought about it, I decided I really wanted to be able to spend more time outside than behind a microscope, so I changed to marine biology,” she said.

The next two years were full of trips to the beach, digging in the mud, studying invertebrates, and building lasting friendships. She learned to scuba dive and took a spring class at Bodega Bay in Northern California, where she ended up working after graduation. 

“I’ll never have a more beautiful office than Bodega Bay,” Laurie said, “My desk used to overlook Horseshoe Cove."

Funnily enough one of Laurie’s first projects after graduation was studying how barnacles recovered after an oil spill, foreshadowing her later career. What started out as a part-time gig collecting specimens, driving vehicles into the field, and helping out in the lab soon went full-time doing toxicology work.

“I learned so much at that lab, it was such a special place, but I also knew I wanted to travel." 

And so the Californian took off for the Pacific, planning to go to Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji. In Australia, she volunteered at the Australian Institute of Marine Science sorting cores from mangrove forests, then joined some field work on the Great Barrier Reef.

“It was beautiful, we got to dive at these incredibly remote places that most people never get to see” said Laurie. While studying the larval development of crown-of-thorns starfish she got the chance to dive during a soft coral spawning—a dazzling event that occurs just once a year and looks like an underwater snowstorm. 

After returning from her adventures abroad Laurie headed back to Bodega Bay, taking graduate classes at Moss Landing, but soon jumped at the chance to complete her masters at Dauphin Island Sea Lab in Alabama. That work took her to Belize for her research on the offshore mangrove islands. After graduate school, she won a coveted Knauss Sea Grant fellowship in  Washington D.C. where she first met several other young scientists that she still works with today. 

It was during her Knauss Fellowship that Laurie first became interested in the Endangered Species Act and worked at the interface of science, policy, and people. Always a West Coaster at heart, her first federal position was working with protected salmon and several high-profile projects. Laurie credits this position for teaching her how to mediate between diverse teams of researchers as they worked on complex scientific topics, a skill that would become essential for her role at OR&R. 

Despite enjoying her time working at NOAA Headquarters, eventually this Californian found herself wanting to go back where the salmon are. She took a job in San Francisco with HAZMAT, the predecessor to the Office of Response and Restoration where she worked on hazardous waste sites cleanups and settlements for NOAA at the EPA office there.

As Laurie shifted into her current position working in natural resource damage assessment across California and the Pacific Islands, she put down roots in Santa Rosa’s beautiful wine country. Perhaps the greatest challenge of her career was during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, which called her back to the Gulf of Mexico and endangered species. 

Laurie led the group assessing impacts of the historic oil spill to marine mammals—a massive undertaking that encompassed a large team of scientists from diverse backgrounds. With scientific expertise and diplomatic savvy, Laurie organized teams that implemented a comprehensive assessment and yielded an unprecedented amount of data. This work was critical in reaching the historic $8.8 billion settlement with BP to restore the Gulf of Mexico. 

June 12, 2020 — Ten years ago, a brown pelican was rescued from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. He was eventually returned to the waters of the Gulf, but before being released was fit with a leg band bearing his new name—A04. And now, A04 has become part of an even bigger success story than its survival alone might suggest. He's now nesting on Queen Bess Refuge—one of thousands of nesting pairs that are making the first post-restoration nesting season on there a huge success.

The project to restore bird habitat on Queen Bess Island, began in November 2019 and was completed in a five -month window when birds were not nesting on the island. The restored island now includes 30 acres of brown pelican habitat and seven acres of tern and skimmer habitat. Biologists have observed 18 species nesting there this season, including tricolored herons, reddish egrets, roseate spoonbills, American oystercatchers, great egrets, and snowy egrets.  

The success of the project is due in large part to the continued collaboration of the federal and state partners, and the persistence of all the stakeholders involved. The restoration project has been three years in the making, and while small in acreage compared to the larger restoration effort in coastal Louisiana, the island has a tremendous benefit to the waterbird populations of Louisiana and the larger northern Gulf Coast. Queen Bess Island is utilized by more than 60 species of birds and is the third largest colonial waterbird colony in Louisiana.

Read the full article at the Deepwater Horizon Trustee Council's website >>

In partnership with the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, NOAA and other public and industry partners entered into an interagency agreement to build upon remote sensing efforts undertaken in the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill. This agreement led to the DWH Lessons Learned Studies: Detection of Oil Thickness and Emulsion Mixtures using Remote Sensing Platforms. 

The primary objective of this research was to compare the ability of multiple remote sensing platforms to detect and quantify surface oil, and verify that anomalies identified in remote sensing images corresponded with oil slick features that could be observed and quantified on a ship.  

The results of this work supported the NOAA DWH findings that remote sensing data could supplement in field collections and provide useful information that represented actionable targets for clean up operations. This project has led to additional studies and methods development that now includes remotely operated vehicles (ROV) and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) examining the shallow mixing layers as well as surface extent.  

This ERMA map shows the mash-up of satellite, fixed wing and drone imagery and analysis paired with on-the-water collected thickness data. Satellite (Aster, Radarsat-2, and Worldview 2) image classifications (shades of green) represent thickness measurements from far above the earth, while drone imagery is overlain with drone classification (yellow), ship-board photography (red kites and inset) and in situ thickness measurements (triangles).  

To learn more, view the map in ERMA here.

MAY 19, 2020 — NOAA, and the state and federal trustees working on restoring habitat and resources impacted by the Refugio Beach oil spill near Santa Barbara, California, are seeking public comments for a draft Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment plan through June 8, 2020. 

The Refugio Natural Resource Damage Assessment case team held a virtual public meeting on May 13, 2019 to provide the public with a summary/overview, answer questions, and receive comments on the proposed plan. Meetings were held via teleconference/webinar for an afternoon session and an evening session. Approximately 200 people participated over the two meetings.  

A copy of the draft plan can also be found at the State of California’s Refugio oil spill web page. Please send your written comments on the plan no later than June 8, 2020 to: 

By email to: RefugioRestoration@fws.gov

By mail to: Refugio Beach Oil Spill Natural Resource Trustees

C/O Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office

2493 Portola Road, Suite B

Ventura, CA  93004

The draft plan describes how the oil spill injured birds, marine mammals, and marine habitats, and impacted human uses, such as recreation and beachgoing. The plan proposes $22 million in restoration projects to restore the wildlife and habitats, and to compensate the public for the impacts to recreation. 

NOAA’s DIVER application was originally created to integrate and organize millions of records of environmental assessment data and help reach the historic $8.8 billion natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) settlement in 2016 following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The DIVER platform is now used by the federal, and state NRDA trustees to manage restoration project information and to provide the public with up-to-date reporting on the progress of restoration projects funded by this settlement.

There are currently more than 175 restoration projects ongoing across the Gulf of America (formerly Gulf of Mexico), with many more to come. By using DIVER Explorer, people can filter for resources they care about, including projects benefiting sea turtles or oysters, or filter by state to see what’s happening close to home. Information on restoration projects that are managed in DIVER is also available for visualization in Gulf of America ERMA, and in mapping applications such as the Gulf Spill Restoration Projects story map. 

Learn more in the resources below: 

• Query restoration projects in DIVER.
• Map data in Gulf of America ERMA.

Born and raised in the coastal town of Jupiter, Florida, Christy grew up with a love of the ocean and its many species. Fortunate to call South Florida beaches her home, Jupiter holds a special place in her heart, with its aqua blue waters, year-round sunny weather, snorkeling, loggerhead sea turtle nesting, and wetland and intracoastal waterways, as well as its famous lighthouse built in 1853.

Christy’s mother immigrated from Cuba to Miami and met her father whose family has lived in Miami for generations. They both loved to spend as much time outside and on the water as possible, and passed down their love of nature and water to Christy and her two younger sisters. She has fond memories of playing in the sand with her sisters, kayaking the Loxahatchee River and inlet, and snorkeling local reefs.

“I was always on or near the water either biking to the lighthouse, snorkeling at Blowing Rocks Preserve, boating to the Juptier sandbar, watching the kite surfers near Juno Pier, or looking for loggerhead tracks in the sand. I loved having the ocean in my backyard, it gave me a deep sense of love for nature and the outdoors”

Growing up, Christy witnessed hurricanes, the increased development of natural areas in Jupiter, coastal erosion, and pollution impact the area she knows and loves. As an undergraduate at the University of Florida (Go Gators!), studying marketing and sustainability, her first internship focused on increasing awareness of issues affecting sea turtles in the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean and was her first step into the marine field. After spending a year teaching in Madrid, Spain, Christy moved back to Jupiter to work in environmental education at a local nature center. It was during this experience that she learned first-hand how global issues, like pollution and marine debris, have a local impact on the ocean and coasts.

This perspective led Christy to enroll in a dual master’s program at the American University in Washington D.C. where she earned her master’s in international affairs and studied transboundary freshwater governance. As part of that program, she completed a second master’s degree in natural resources and sustainable development at the United Nations-mandated University for Peace in Costa Rica. During this experience, she studied a variety of environmental issues impacting Central American ecosystems including; illegal fishing and dumping in Costa Rica, regional efforts to promote sustainable eco-tourism, and ocean management.

Christy’s graduate research practicum focused on environmental cooperation over water resources in the Middle East. While pursuing this effort, Christy participated in community-based peacebuilding discussions over water resources and site-visits in Israel and the Palestinian West Bank and later presented the findings at a peace conference in Turkey. Upon completing both her graduate degrees, she supported federal efforts as a contractor for the National Science Foundation and United States Agency for International Development in Washington D.C.

“I feel incredibly lucky to have had these professional learning opportunities to travel to different countries and communities. These experiences have provided a unique lens to better understand how environment, social, economic, and cultural resilience are interwoven.”

Christy’s academic and professional journey landed her in the Marine Debris Program — a program within NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration in 2016 where she now works to tackle the global issue of marine debris. Christy first joined the program to lead the planning and implementation of the Sixth International Marine Debris Conference. The conference brought together 725 attendees from over 50 countries to discuss solutions to combat the global marine debris issue. The conference highlighted innovative marine debris solutions, research, and technological advances to solving the issue of marine debris. The conference was a huge success and Christy was recognized as a NOAA National Ocean Service Employee of the Year for the event’s zero waste efforts that diverted 80,572 items and over 7,000 pounds from the landfill.

“I am so proud to be involved with the [conference]. The event’s success was certainty tied to the amazing OR&R and Marine Debris Program team, who were crucial every step of the way including leading sessions, providing their marine debris expertise and overall logistical support to make the conference run smoothly.”

On April 20, 2010, an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon Macondo oil well drilling platform killed 11 workers, and started the largest marine oil spill in U.S. history, releasing millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of America (formerly Gulf of Mexico). NOAA was on the scene from the earliest moments of the crisis, bringing more than 25 years of experience protecting and restoring our coasts from oil spills.

As the lead science agency for coastal oil spills, NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration provided mission-critical information to guide the emergency response, the natural resources damage assessment, and the restoration plan. Working collectively with a network of partners throughout government, industry, and academia, NOAA scientists completed the response and the largest natural resource damage assessment in history to support the 2016 settlement that awarded $8.8 billion for restoration to address natural resource injuries and lost recreational uses.

Deepwater Horizon challenged the spill response community and sparked a need for advances in science to help us prepare for future oil spills. In the decade since this tragic event, OR&R has enhanced its science, technology, and communication for the better, using the multitude of lessons we learned during Deepwater Horizon.

This month, tune in below as we share stories from our staff about their experiences during the Deepwater Horizon disaster and look back on all that we’ve learned and how we are better prepared for future spills.

8 Advances in Oil Spill Science in the Decade Since Deepwater Horizon

In our final blog we provide on overview of some of the advances in science we’ve discussed in-depth throughout the last three weeks. Read the full blog here.

10 Years Ago: A Deepwater Horizon Timeline

NOAA was on the scene from the earliest moments of the crisis, bringing more than 25 years of experience protecting and restoring our coasts from oil spills. In our latest timeline, go back to the day of the spill and what's happened in the decade since. Click here to view the timeline.

How Thick is the Oil Slick?

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill was the largest marine oil spill in U.S history, and responding to the disaster required the use of brand-new satellite technology to detect and map the footprint of oil on the surface of the ocean. Read the full blog here.

Deepwater Horizon: The Science Behind NOAA's Unprecedented Response

Senior Scientist Lisa DiPinto reveals the science behind NOAA's response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. View the video below, or visit NOAA Fisheries to learn more.

Interested in learning more?

For more information about the Deepwater Horizon spill, visit the resources below:

• Where to Find OR&R and other NOAA Information on the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

• NOAA Studies Documenting the Impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

• Attempting to Answer One Question Over and Over Again: Where Will the Oil Go?

• Deepwater Horizon: Response in the Midst of an Historic Crisis

• In Mapping the Fallout from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Developing One Tool to Bring Unity to the Response

• Effects of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on Coastal Salt Marsh Habitat

• Assessing the Impacts from Deepwater Horizon

• Recalling the Early Hours—and Challenges—of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

• Advances in Science: How Deepwater Horizon Helped Improve NOAA’s Oil Spill Modeling

• 10 Things a Non-Scientist Has Learned in the Decade Since Deepwater Horizon

• From the Deepwater Horizon Incident Command, to the Helm of the Disaster Preparedness Program: A Career Built Around Disaster Coordination

• NOAA’s Eyes in the Sky: How Satellite Technology Pioneered During Deepwater Horizon Patrols America’s Oceans for Pollution

• How Deepwater Horizon Spurred Advances in Oil Toxicity Science

• How Deepwater Horizon Data Tools are Used to Protect America’s Coastal Resources

• Dolphin Discoveries in the Decade Since Deepwater Horizon

Steve Lehmann is a NOAA senior scientific support coordinator (SSC) based outside of Boston. He is part of NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration and along with other SSCs has a unique mission. That is to support our outside partners such as the U.S. Coast Guard by responding to oil and chemical spills as “objective advisers” to the federal on-scene coordinator and the Incident Command, rather than solely representing NOAA interests. They draw on their scientific education and background, as well as years of experience responding to such spills. Steve describes his role as similar to an experienced trail guide, helping responders avoid the pitfalls and dangers of past spills. His job requires that he be on call for emergency response to provide sound scientific advice; advice that the lead agency, such as the Coast Guard is not obligated to follow.

The Office of Response and Restoration employs a team of SSCs, situated regionally across the country. In addition to spill response, they also help with emergency preparedness and conduct training to federal, state, and local partners in the regions. 

After completing his education, he began working as a civilian for the Coast Guard, implementing the CAMEO (Computer-Aided Management of Emergency Operations) program at the unit level. CAMEO, developed by OR&R (then known as the HAZMAT Program) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is a set of tools designed to assist emergency planning and response during and before events related to hazardous chemicals. This job required close work with NOAA HAZMAT and the regional SSC, a position Steve would assume in 1990, immediately being sent to Kodiak, Alaska for a two-month deployment working on the Exxon Valdez oil spill. 

At the time he was hired, Steve was the youngest civilian SSC on the team. In 1991 he traveled for a month to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to respond to the Gulf War spills, returning via Paris to participate in a technical conference at UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) as one of the only conferees who had responded on-scene to the environmental emergency being discussed. It was not the last emergency Steve would be called to in other parts of the world and around the country.

Subsequently, Steve was the lead SSC on major spills in New England such as the Barge North Cape in Narragansett, Rhode Island in 1996; the Julie N., in Portland, Maine also in 1996; and the Bouchard barge 120 in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts in 2003, to name just a few. Of course, Steve also played a major role in the response to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which was the biggest spill ever in U.S. waters, as one of two SSCs advising the area command in New Orleans.

A characteristic of the job of an SSC is to be prepared to work anywhere on very short notice. In addition to working in their assigned regions, they are frequently called in to help at spill events elsewhere. For Steve, this includes working in Madagascar, South Korea, Honduras, Panama, and many trips to the Middle East.

One of the aspects of the job Steve appreciates is that in addition to the knowledge SSCs bring from their experience, they are able to draw on a large network of highly skilled specialists. Within OR&R’s Emergency Response Division, there is a technical team made up of ecologists, biologists, toxicologists, and chemists, as well as oceanographers and modelers that provide information on where the spilled oil is likely to go. Outside of OR&R there are other NOAA experts on weather, fisheries, and satellites, who the SSCs collaborate with regularly. Additionally, the SSCs maintain their own networks of academicians and outside scientists that they consult with. These are valuable resources both at and in between spill events.

When asked about the most rewarding aspects of his job, Steve says that has changed for him over the years. Initially it was the more exciting aspects such as flying in helicopters and jumping aboard moving tank ships. Now, it’s teaching and working with the next generation of responders. 

However, the demands of the job over the years have meant that Steve has had to be away from his family for a total of over five years, he estimates. He has had to miss things like coaching his son’s soccer team and volunteer work. But the most challenging part of the work itself is dealing with communities that feel they are at risk. Perceived risk is a relative condition. Events that are commonplace to the experienced are frightening to those witnessing them for the first time. The challenge is maintaining empathy with the community while being honest about the situation. 

The Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA®) is NOAA’s online mapping tool that integrates both static and real-time data, enabling users to quickly and securely access, analyze, and display spatial data. The "Map of the Month" series highlights unique maps from throughout ERMA's use and history.

This map demonstrates the interoperability of ERMA with other applications within the Office of Response and Restoration and highlights projects from the NOAA Marine Debris Clearinghouse.  

The Clearinghouse is an online database that serves as the federal government's hub of information for marine debris stakeholders on projects that are underway or have been completed. It is intended to help improve the state of knowledge on marine debris, promote collaboration, and spark ideas for future removal, prevention, and research activities. 

Data displayed are from debris research, prevention, and removal efforts funded or otherwise supported by the NOAA Marine Debris Program. The multi-colored points represent different project type categories such as marine debris removal, prevention, and emergency response locations. Click here to view the map online.

By clicking on the individual colored dots you can see information about the specific project and link to the Marine Debris Clearinghouse project details directly. You can also click here to access the Clearinghouse and filter and query these projects directly.  

March’s Map of the Month comes from the Spatial Data Branch’s Adam Rotert in Silver Spring, Maryland.

This feature is part of a monthly series profiling scientists and technicians who provide exemplary contributions to the mission of NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R). In this month’s feature meet Alyson Finn, emergency planning specialist with OR&R’s Disaster Preparedness Program.

Alyson “Aly” Finn grew up in Andover, Massachusetts, just outside of Boston. She was the daughter of two very outdoorsy people, and together Aly, her parents, and her sister Heather enjoyed summering at Lake Winnipesaukee. They loved it so much, that they later moved to Moultonborough, New Hampshire, where the seasons revolved around the lake — waterskiing, tubing, and swimming in the summer, ice fishing and playing hockey in the winter. 

“I really loved being outside with people, and my favorite memories from growing up were just going to the beach with my family. They used to load everything up and wheel me down to the beach in their old wagons,” Aly said, adding that it was a community beach always filled with family and friends, during the summer months the beach was Aly’s home away from home.

From an early age, Aly enjoyed connecting with people and facilitating movement between diverse groups of people. So when she went to Plymouth State University in New Hampshire, the undergraduate professional communications program seemed like the perfect fit. 

It wasn’t until after college that she began to hone this skill further into a focus on emergency management planning. Seeking an opportunity to get out into the world and try something new, she found herself in FEMA Corps — a partnership between FEMA and the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps program. 

While in FEMA Corps, Aly had the opportunity to serve communities impacted by disasters. Working for FEMA Corps, Aly also enjoyed getting to visit a diverse array of communities. Though she was stationed out of McClellan Air Force Base in Sacramento, California, her work took her across the country. 

“It was here that I learned how to bring order to chaos. I was blown away by people’s ability to come together to communicate and coordinate resources during times of disasters,” Aly said. “I got to see things people my age only dream about seeing. I’ve been to almost 25 national parks around the country, and it opened up my eyes to things I had never seen. It taught me how to be flexible, and to get the job done no matter what the scenario is.” 

As the assistant team leader, Aly came to realize her ability to develop emergency plans and bring people together. After she finished her program with FEMA Corps, she went to graduate school to pursue a job in emergency management. While working toward her master’s in emergency planning and public administration from Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, she went to work for the American Red Cross as a community disaster education specialist through a national AmeriCorps program. 

In her new role, Aly was in charge of all the community outreach presentations within the South Florida Region. She enjoyed being a part of disaster services, supporting response operations and building disaster action teams. She began looking for a way to make the position permanent and began a new role as a disaster program specialist for the American Red Cross in Florida where she managed the disaster services team for Florida’s Coast to Heartland Chapter. A year later, she saw an opportunity to further advance her career as a disaster program manager in Portland, Maine — increasing her jurisdiction, and her role within the nonprofit.

The New London class will be held the week of June 8, 2020 at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and the Seattle class the week of June 22, 2020 at the NOAA Western Regional Center.

Applications for the New London class will be accepted through Thursday, April 2, 2020, and for the Seattle class through Thursday, April 9. For both classes, we will notify applicants regarding their participation status by Friday, April 17, via email.

SOS classes help spill responders increase their understanding of oil spill science when analyzing spills and making risk-based decisions. They are designed for new and mid-level spill responders.

The training covers:

• Fate and behavior of oil spilled in the environment.
• An introduction to oil chemistry and toxicity.
• A review of basic spill response options for open water and shorelines.
• Spill case studies.
• Principles of ecological risk assessment.
• A field trip.
• An introduction to damage assessment techniques.
• Determining cleanup endpoints.

To view the topics for the next SOS class, download a sample agenda [pdf, 170 kb].

Please understand that classes are not filled on a first-come, first-served basis. OR&R tries to diversify the participant composition to ensure a variety of perspectives and experiences to enrich the class for the benefit of all participants. Classes are generally limited to 40 participants.

To learn more about SOS classes and how to apply for the class, visit the SOS Classes page.

For more information, contact the OR&R Training Team, at SOS.registration@noaa.gov.

This is a map showing environmental sediment and tissue chemistry data sampling locations throughout the Pacific Northwest where sediment, water, and tissue from fish or other freshwater organisms were collected and analyzed in a laboratory for specific contaminants.  

These data come from 355 separate studies conducted by federal, state, local and nongovernmental organizations and represent sampling done over 48 years at 11,748 stations. 

As part of NOAA’s responsibilities as a natural resource trustee, our team uses these data (sometimes collecting data ourselves) to inform our natural resource damage assessments and restoration efforts in places such as the Lower Duwamish River, Portland Harbor, and Commencement Bay. 

All of these studies have been gathered, standardized, and made publicly available through the DIVER application, a NOAA-developed data warehouse and query tool. NOAA and our partners also use these data in our Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA) for planning and response to oil and other hazards spilled into the environment.

Click here to view the data in ERMA.

View the filtered data query in the Public DIVER Explorer application here.

February’s "Map of the Month" comes from the Spatial Data Branch’s Ben Shorr and Nicolas Eckhardt in sunny Seattle.

FEB.10, 2020 — NOAA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have released a final Natural Resource Damage Assessment Plan for the Diamond Alkali Superfund Site. The site, centered in Newark, New Jersey, includes the Lower Passaic River, Newark Bay, and other areas. The Diamond Alkali Superfund site has a long history of pollution.

Toxic substances including dioxin from Agent Orange production, metals, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and other contaminants were released into the environment through industrial practices beginning in the 1940s. Contaminants are found in such high concentrations that the State of New Jersey bans eating fish or shellfish caught in the Lower Passaic River. 

Understanding the impacts of hazardous waste pollution is the first step towards restoring natural resources and associated services. The agencies will begin working on plans to study specific injuries to natural resources, such as fish and waterfowl, and related losses in recreation. 

A press release from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is available online. 

Please contact Eli.Reinharz@noaa.gov with any questions. 

Learn more about the Diamond Alkali Site on the Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program website.

As the largest animals on the planet, it's no surprise that whales dominate their aquatic food chains. Few species could hope to challenge the bulk of these giant mammals, so what could possibly pose a threat to a whale? In a word, humans — in two, marine pollution.

Whether it be oil spills, marine debris, and industrial pollutants such as PCBs, or a combination of pollutants impacting their food supply, marine pollution is a serious threat to whales and other marine mammals. When it comes to the overall impact of marine pollution on whales, there are a lot of unanswered questions. But through improving science and technologies, our understanding of how whales and other marine mammals interact with pollutants continues to grow.

This week, we’ll be answering a few of those questions — like, does a killer whale instinctively know how to avoid spilled oil? Or can noise become a form of pollution when it disrupts life beneath the surface? Or what about what happens if a whale carcass washes up on shore? We’ll also be looking at tools and techniques scientists use to answer these questions — tools such as acoustic monitoring and remote biopsies. We’ll also talk about ways to prevent marine pollution to keep whales and other animals safe from its impacts.

Stay tuned this week as we talk more about whales and marine pollution. When they’re published, you can find each new blog below. You can also subscribe to our blog here to have updates delivered straight to your inbox.

More than Two Decades Later, Have Killer Whales Recovered from the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill?

Before the Exxon Valdez disaster of 1989 — which released 11 million gallons of oil into Alaska’s Prince William Sound — scientists and oil spill experts believed marine mammals would be able to detect and avoid oil in the event of a major spill. Unfortunately, as Exxon Valdez proved, that wasn’t the case.

In this flashback blog from 2012, learn more about how Exxon Valdez impacted killer whales and how Prince William Sound’s resident species is still struggling to recover.

A Whale of Information from a Single Shot: Studying Marine Mammals After Oil Spills Using Remote Biopsy

Not too long ago, commercialized whalers harpooned whales from wooden rowboats to harvest their oils and bones. But today, scientists hunt these mammals to help protect them from oil spills and other hazards. Remote biopsies offer a way for scientists to study marine mammals in the wild. Read more on our blog.

Marine Mammal Entanglement Prevention and Habitat Restoration in Alaska

With the support of a Fishing for Energy grant, a partnership between the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Covanta, and NOAA’s Marine Debris Program, the Island Trails Network is working to reduce entanglement and mortality of marine mammals, increasing awareness of the impact of entangling debris, and engaging volunteers to remove marine debris from coastlines. In this guest blog by Hana Bulow and Andy Schroeder from the Island Trails Network, learn more about the important work this nonprofit does and the positive impact they have on the Kodiak archipelago. Read the full blog here.

Living Sound: New Insights into the Acoustic World Under the Waves

Because of the vital importance of making and listening to sound for ocean animals, we’ve been faced with questions about how the noise of our industrialization, whether deliberate or incidental, could interfere. Could these sound-centric creatures be harmed by human noise? And importantly, if so, could we understand both how and what to do to minimize these unintended consequences and preserve our treasured oceans?

In this guest blog by former NOAA Acoustic Monitoring Program Director Brandon Southall, learn more about the vital role sound plays for whales and other marine life. Read the full blog here.

When the U.S. Coast Guard calls NOAA, requesting scientific support in an environmental emergency — perhaps a grounded vessel is leaking oil, a container ship lost part of its cargo, or a log boom has become detached from its tow — who answers that call? NOAA’s team of response coordinators, such as Regional Response Officer Matt Bissell, are at the forefront of that response. Located in Seattle and responsible for incidents in the Pacific Northwest, Matt is part of a team that provides leadership and technical expertise on oil and hazardous materials spills, and other emergency responses in coastal waters.

Matt’s education and interests are well suited to the work of OR&R’s Emergency Response Division. He holds a master’s degree in geographic information science and technology from the University of Southern California and a bachelor’s in Earth system science from San Francisco State University. While studying in the Bay Area, he earned a Master Scuba Diver certification with the American Association of Underwater Scientists at Moss Landing Marine Labs.

In February 1990, a disaster close to home deepened Matt’s connection to the ocean. The oil tanker American Trader ran over its anchor at low tide, puncturing its hull and spilling an estimated 400,000 gallons of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean offshore of Huntington Beach, California. OR&R was part of the extensive response effort for this spill, which heavily impacted biological and recreational resources in the area. The spill closed down Matt’s local surf beach and dominated the newspapers for months. As a first-grader deeply affected by the spill and its impacts, Matt wrote a short story he titled “The Oil Spill.” It was an early start to his spill response career. 

Since childhood Matt has loved the ocean, and learned to surf and sail at a young age. As a kid, he would ride his bike to the beach not knowing if the surf would be giant, or non-existent; or whether tomorrow’s wind would be from the east (great for surfing) or the west (poor for surfing, but great for sailing). Everyday was a surprise. That was, until his father bought him a Realistic Weatheradio that broadcasted NOAA marine forecasts 24 hours a day. With that small radio cube, Matt could get detailed surf and weather forecasts — his first experience with NOAA data — and know what days were best for surfing. 

A few years later, Matt's family purchased their first computer and he gained access to NOAA’s National Data Buoy Center — another great tool for the amateur surf forecaster. Matt would continue to use NOAA data throughout his life; his master’s thesis used NOAA satellite data, as well as NOAA marine mammal observation data, to create habitat suitability models for blue whales in the Southern California Bight.   

As a young adult, Matt first learned about NOAA’s federal uniformed service, known as the NOAA Corps, when he was sailing on the tall ship Spirit of Dana Point. While giving public tours of the ship, he met a NOAA Corps officer who described the service as “a great mix of science and adventure.” The NOAA cadre of professionals — trained in engineering, earth sciences, oceanography, and related disciplines — operate NOAA ships, fly NOAA aircraft, manage research projects, conduct dive operations, and serve in staff positions throughout NOAA. Immediately, Matt knew that the Corps was the perfect fit for him, and he completed his application within the week.

The rigorous 19-week Basic Officer Training at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut involved training right alongside Coast Guard officer candidates. 

What are we looking at? This is a map depicting the historical use of dispersants in or near U.S. Waters

Why is it cool? Large volumes of dispersants were used during the Deepwater Horizon spill, but over the past 40 years and approximately 400,000‐reported spill incidents, we are aware of only 27 incidents in the United States where dispersants have been utilized.

Why is it useful to NOAA and our partners?  Dispersants are a rarely used response tool in the U.S. Though they haven't been used since the 2010 disaster, the controversy over their use may lead the public and policymakers to conclude that they are commonly used. 

The Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA) is used by NOAA, the U.S. Coast Guard, and other partners to provide up-to-date and visual information to guide emergency response decisions during hurricanes. 

Click here to view the map online.

November’s Map of the Month comes from the OR&R Spatial Data Branch’s Michael Greer and Emergency Response Division’s Doug Helton in Seattle. 

OCT. 23, 2019 —This map shows the path and wind speeds of Hurricane Dorian as it moved up the East Coast. Dorian first developed as a tropical storm on Aug. 24 in the Central Atlantic before devastating the Bahamas as a Category 5 hurricane on Sept. 2-3. Dorian’s trajectory slowed over the following days as it made its way northeast where it made landfall at Cape Hatteras, North Carolina on Sept. 6 — fluctuating between a Category 1 and Category 2 hurricane.  

The red line and points along it track the strongest part of the storm, and the white circles represent water monitoring stations that provide a live feed of tides, currents, and water levels. These allow responders to anticipate and warn communities about dangerous storm surges. 

The Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA) is used by NOAA, the U.S. Coast Guard, and other partners to provide up-to-date and visual information to guide emergency response decisions during hurricanes. 

Click here to view the map online. 

October’s Map of the Month comes from the Spatial Data Branch’s Adam Rotert in Silver Spring, Maryland.