SEPTEMBER 25, 2023 — OR&R’s Dan Hahn joined NOAA Restoration Center staff, along with Louisiana State Trustees on a September 14th site visit to the Long Point Bayou marsh creation project. The site visit was to assess the progress made on restoration that targets 392 acres of marsh creation as part of the actions to compensate the public for the lost natural resources resulting from the 2006 CITGO Slop oil spill into the Calcasieu River.
OR&R Weekly Report
The Office of Response and Restoration publishes this weekly round-up of news and information of interest to our partners, stakeholders, and team members. Click to subscribe
September 2023
SEPTEMBER 18, 2023 — On September 6 and 7, staff from NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration participated in a workshop sponsored by the Office and facilitated by the University of New Hampshire’s Coastal Response Research Center that explored what is known and uncertain about plastic pellets and what occurs when they are spilled into marine and coastal environments.
SEPTEMBER 11, 2023 — On August 28th, the National Ocean Service (NOS) Incident Management Team (IMT) activated ahead of Hurricane Idalia. The NOS IMT, led by OR&R’s Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) with representatives from across NOS program and staff offices, coordinated response efforts and collected situational awareness. Team members reported information pertaining to any impacts to mission and personnel as well as infrastructure damage.
SEPTEMBER 11, 2023 — On August 30, 2023, NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) Director, Nancy Wallace, participated in a Trilateral Government Roundtable on Ghost Gear, “Advancing Cooperation to Address Ghost Gear in North America.” Forty-three representatives from the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States attended this virtual roundtable. The Global Ghost Gear Initiative, an MDP partner and grantee through the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement funding, hosted the event.
SEPTEMBER 11, 2023 — On September 26, 2023, the Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee (IMDCC) will hold a virtual public meeting, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET. The public meeting will include a presentation on the Report on Microfiber Pollution required by Section 132 of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act, as well as a presentation on the process to create new IMDCC recommendations on addressing marine debris.
SEPTEMBER 11, 2023 — On June 1, 2023, the District Court for the District of Delaware approved of a Settlement and Release entered into by the Maxus Liquidating Trust (“Trust”) and YPF S.A., YPF International S.A. (f/k/a YPF International Ltd.), YPF Holdings, Inc., and YCLH Holdings, Inc.
SEPTEMBER 5, 2023 — On August 30th, the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) wrapped up a month of partner-led virtual workgroup meetings to discuss the California Ocean Litter Strategy (OLS). The meetings brought together over 75 partners from across the state and included a diverse set of sectors, including state agencies, nonprofits, private organizations, and academia.
August 2023
AUGUST 28, 2023 — On August 1, the NOAA Marine Debris Program announced two Fiscal Year 2024 NOAA Marine Debris notices of funding opportunity for both Marine Debris Removal and Interception Technologies under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
AUGUST 28, 2023 — On August 24, 2023, a $5.38 million settlement was finalized to restore natural resources impacted by contaminants discharged along the Gloucester, Massachusetts waterfront. The pollution came from a manufactured gas plant that operated along the Gloucester waterfront between 1854 and 1952. Manufactured gas plants often yielded by-products of the gas production process such as tars, sludges, and oils.
AUGUST 21, 2023 — OR&R recently published a new report, Oil Spills and Pelagic Sargassum, to assist those who work in oil spill response and planning where pelagic (open ocean) Sargassum is at risk from, or may interact with, oil spills.
AUGUST 21, 2023 — Each year, for the past 12 years, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation hosts the Great Hudson River Estuary Fish Count. This year the event took place at nine sites, including Lemon Creek Park on Staten Island.
August 14, 2023 – On July 24, 2023, NOAA Marine Debris Program Education Specialist Alexandria Gillen and Monitoring Coordinator Hillary Burgess led an impactful workshop for marine educators focused on the Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project (MDMAP) at the National Marine Educators Association national conference.
August 14, 2023 – OR&R’s Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) is partnering with NOAA Sea Grant for the second time to help coastal communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters, such as hurricanes, flooding, tsunami, earthquake, and climate hazards. On August 8, 2023, DPP announced the four new projects, which total to $634,936 in FY23 federal funds, will take place in New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, and South Carolina.
August 14, 2023 – On August 2, 2023, the team from the Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project, a Hawaiʻi-based nonprofit organization, returned to Honolulu, with 86,100 pounds of marine debris removed from shallow coral reefs and shorelines of the islands and atolls within Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. Of the debris removed, 69,330 pounds were derelict fishing nets and 16,770 pounds were plastics and other debris.
August 14, 2023 – In late July, OR&R partnered with the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and the Coastal Response Research Center to provide on-land and on-water training to USCG’s Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) pilots to strengthen oil spill response.
August 14, 2023 – On August 2, the NOAA Marine Debris Program coordinated a workshop to discuss updates to the Hawai‘i Marine Debris Action Plan (Action Plan).
AUGUST 7, 2023 — On July 25, 2023, the NOAA Marine Debris Program attended and presented at a Making Sense of Microfibers & Microplastics Policy session at the American Apparel & Footwear Association’s (AAFA) Environmental Committee Meeting, held in Boston, MA.
July 2023
JULY 31, 2023 — The National Ocean Service (NOS) Incident Management Team (IMT) conducted its first activation in the 2023 hurricane season for Tropical Storm Calvin, which impacted the Pacific.
JULY 24, 2023 — During the week of July 10, spill specialists from OR&R’s Emergency Response Division conducted a Science of Oil Spills (SOS) class for the Pacific Northwest region in Portland, Oregon. The class was jointly hosted by OR&R and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).
JULY 24, 2023 — From July 10-14, students from Rainier Prep and Showalter Middle Schools spent the week as NOAA Science Campers at the Western Regional Center in Seattle, Washington. NOAA Science Camp is a program of Washington Sea Grant and offers hands-on science learning opportunities, as well as exposure to NOAA’s mission areas and science careers.
JULY 24, 2023 — The Anacostia River, which runs through Maryland and the District of Columbia, has suffered from many decades of pollution, from multiple sources including hazardous waste sites, runoff, and combined sewers. Communities along the Anacostia have been disproportionately impacted by this pollution.
JULY 24, 2023 — On July 13th, the Marine Debris Leadership Academy (MDLA) was launched at the Tijuana National Estuarine Research Reserve in San Diego, California. The MDLA was founded as an opportunity to empower leaders to continue to cultivate change in communities, systems, and themselves.
JULY 24, 2023 — On July 11-13, 2023, staff from OR&R’s Emergency Response Division provided a three-day, virtual training in Shoreline Cleanup and Assessment Technique (SCAT) for the country of Guyana.
JULY 24, 2023 — On July 18, Nancy Wallace, Director of the NOAA Marine Debris Program, participated in a virtual workshop organized by Internews’ Earth Journalism Network as part of its Ocean Media Initiative.
JULY 17, 2023 — NOAA scientists, aided in recent years by citizen scientists, have been photographing a boulder in Prince William Sound for 33 years. Why? The rock was coated in oil in 1989 when the Exxon Valdez supertanker ran aground on Bligh Reef, dumping more than ten million gallons of crude oil into the Sound. Today, the boulder is known as Mearns Rock, nicknamed after Dr. Alan Mearns, a scientist emeritus in NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration.
JULY 17, 2023 — On July 12, 2023, a $5.38 million settlement was proposed in Federal District Court to restore natural resources impacted by contaminants discharged along the Gloucester, Massachusetts waterfront.
JULY 17, 2023 — On Thursday of this week, July 20th, the You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know lecture series begins its second annual OR&R 101 series!
JULY 10, 2023 — From June 26-30, the Gulf of Mexico Alliance’s Marine Debris Cross-Team Initiative, co-led by the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Gulf of Mexico Regional Coordinator Caitlin Wessel and US Fish and Wildlife’s Adriana Levia, held its annual half day meeting during the larger Gulf of Mexico Alliance All Hands.
JULY 10, 2023 — The NOAA Marine Debris Program is developing a national shoreline marine debris monitoring plan in partnership with Western EcoSystems Technology Inc. Several national-international scale initiatives call for tools to document and report on the status and trends of marine debris. These include Regional Marine Debris Action Plans, United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and momentum toward a global agreement on marine litter.
June 2023
JUNE 26, 2023 — On June 8, the NOAA Marine Debris Program unveiled a new sculpture made entirely of plastic marine debris items during a World Ocean Day event at the Cape Cod National Seashore.
JUNE 26, 2023 — On June 13, the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) coordinated and presented at the bi-annual California Ocean Litter Prevention Strategy webinar. The webinar brought together over 60 partners across the state and included a diverse set of sectors including state agencies, nonprofits, policy-makers, and academia.
JUNE 20, 2023 — On June 8, the NOAA Marine Debris Program joined artists and scientists from around the Washington, DC, area at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History World Ocean Day celebration.
JUNE 20, 2023 — NOAA’s Marine Debris Program is pleased to release the “Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Marine Debris Emergency Response Guide” (Guide). This Guide is the first published for the Pacific Region and aims to improve preparedness for responding to marine debris after typhoons and other disasters in the Commonwealth.
JUNE 20, 2023 — On May 19, 2023, the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay hosted a demonstration of using trained canines to detect subsurface shoreline oiling at Slaughter Beach in Milford, Delaware.
JUNE 20, 2023 — The NOAA Office of Response and Restoration participated in a three-day Response Roadshow hosted by the U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Strike Team in Fort Dix, New Jersey on June 6-8, 2023. The purpose of the meeting was to build relationships as a response community to better understand how federal, state, and local governments, as well as private industry work together to prevent, mitigate, and respond to human-made and natural disasters.
JUNE 12, 2023 — Six members of OR&R were recognized on May 2, 2023 as part of an Outstanding Group Award presented by the Seattle Federal Executive Board (SFEB). Recognized OR&R staff included: CDR Faith Knighton, LTJG Kyle Vincent, Chris Barker, and Andrew Mason. Two OR&R contractors, Dylan Righi with Genwest and Megan Ewald with CSS, also contributed to this accomplishment.
JUNE 12, 2023 — From May 29 - June 2, representatives from around the world met in Paris, France, for the Second Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-2) to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment.
JUNE 12, 2023 — On June 6, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana entered the consent decree finalizing settlement between NOAA and LLOG Exploration Offshore, LLC. The settlement, valued at $3.1 million, resolves LLOG Exploration Offshore, LLC of their liability for natural resource injuries resulting from a pipeline spill that discharged oil into the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, approximately 70 miles southeast of Venice, Louisiana.
JUNE 12, 2023 — On May 16-17, William Whitmore, OR&R’s Northeast Scientific Support and Regional Preparedness Coordinator, participated in a two-day oil spill planning workshop with MIT Sea Grant and the Mashpee-Wampanoag Tribe. The workshop, which was funded through OR&R’s Disaster Preparedness Program and the National Sea Grant Office, was the first step in a collaborative effort to help the Mashpee-Wampanoag tribe create an oil spill response plan for its aquaculture sites along the south coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
June 5, 2023 — On May 22, the NOAA Marine Debris Program's Chief Scientist, Amy V. Uhrin, gave a presentation during a virtual public webinar hosted by the National Nanotechnology Initiative. Seven speakers across as many federal agencies each provided a broad overview of their key research activities addressing micro- and nanoplastic pollution. Each of the speakers are members of the informal U.S. government nanoplastics interagency interest group that coordinates activities on this subject across federal agencies.
June 5, 2023 — After teaching Science of Chemical Releases (SOCR) classes virtually since 2020, the OR&R training team, comprised of Kim Albins, Bob Bradley, Adam Davis, Charlie Henry, Dalina Thrift-Viveros, Savannah Turner, and Al Valeriotti, offered the class in person again. This class was held at the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Sector Jacksonville, Florida facility from May 22- 25, 2023. There were 36 students representing the USCG, U.S.
May 2023
MAY 30, 2023 — Findings and recommendations from a project funded by the NOAA Uncrewed Systems Research Transition Office, and conducted collaboratively by NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, the NOAA Marine Debris Program, Oregon State University, and ORBTL AI, were recently published as a NOAA Technical Memorandum.
MAY 30, 2023 — NOAA and co-trustees are seeking public comment on a Draft Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment (RP/EA) for the American Cyanamid Superfund site in Bridgewater, New Jersey.
MAY 30, 2023 — In early May, Harmony Wayner, Alaska Sea Grant Fellow with the NOAA Marine Debris Program, traveled to Dutch Harbor, Alaska, to support its city-hosted annual cleanup. The yearly cleanup happens the first two weeks of May, with people picking up marine debris and litter around town. Nichel Kernin, the Recreation Program Coordinator for the city of Unalaska, organized the cleanup. Ocean Conservancy was a generous partner, donating gloves and snacks. The Qawalangin tribe of Unalaska also hosts beach cleanup events alongside this city effort.
MAY 30, 2023 — On May 15 - 16, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Northeast Regional Coordinator, Demi Fox, attended the 2023 URI Global Plastics Forum, in Kingston, Rhode Island. The forum brought together representatives from local, state, national, and international organizations and agencies to exchange knowledge and share plans for upcoming efforts.
MAY 22, 2023 — We are pleased to announce the winners of the Annual NOAA Marine Debris Program Art Contest! We received many colorful, creative, and informative entries from around the country, and although we wish we could showcase them all, we are excited to share the winners of this year’s contest with you.
MAY 22, 2023 — NOAA recently accepted a settlement for damage assessment and restoration for the Tug Powhatan oil spill. The $1.3 million dollar settlement will fund two restoration projects in Sitka, Alaska that will benefit Pacific herring spawning habitat, as well as local Tribes and communities. It will also reimburse costs incurred during the assessment.
MAY 22, 2023 — Last week a team of experts from across the National Ocean Service (NOS) delivered a training session at the 37th Annual Governor’s Hurricane Conference. The training team, led by the OR&R’s Disaster Preparedness Program, was made up of representatives from five program offices.
MAY 22, 2023 — On May 11, 2023, the OR&R Scientific Support Coordinator for the Pacific Islands, Ruth Yender, hosted U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Rear Admiral (RDML) Jo-Ann Burdian at the Inouye Regional Center (IRC) on Oahu's Ford Island. RDML Burdian toured space at the IRC that will soon be occupied by a new USCG Indo-Pacific Regional Activities Center (IndoPAC RAC). The mission of the six-person IndoPAC RAC is to build response capacity in the region and to help partner nations implement International Maritime Organization Conventions on marine pollution.
MAY 15, 2023 — On May 11, NOAA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the International Group of Protection and Indemnity Clubs to promote the expeditious and cost-effective resolution of natural resource damages resulting from ship-source oil spills and from response actions under the Oil Pollution Act.
MAY 15, 2023 — During the first week of May, the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP), in collaboration with the U.S. EPA’s Trash Free Waters Program and The Nature Conservancy, supported two initiatives to improve preparedness and response to marine debris incidents in Puerto Rico.
MAY 15, 2023 — The EPA, Elliott Bay Trustees, and stakeholders attended an open house for the recently constructed Vigor restoration project on Harbor Island on the Lower Duwamish River in Seattle. Trustees finalized a Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) settlement in May 2021 with Vigor Industrial and Exxon Mobil.
MAY 15, 2023 — From May 2-4, OR&R’s Assessment & Restoration Division (ARD), in partnership with NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science’s (NCCOS) Ecotoxicology Branch, held its Field Assessment and Support Techniques (FAST) training at and around the Hollings Marine Laboratory in Charleston, South Carolina.
MAY 15, 2023 — On Tuesday, May 2, the Hurricane Awareness Tour for 2023 made a stop in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) participated and shared information on hurricane preparedness and recovery supported by National Ocean Service (NOS) products and services. A demonstration of the Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA®) was on display to show how the public and responders can utilize the available
MAY 15, 2023 — On May 10, the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) released the “New York Marine Debris Emergency Response Guide” (Guide). The Guide is a product of a collaborative process with state and federal agencies. This work aims to improve preparedness for responding to marine debris after disasters in New York’s coastal areas, including the Great Lakes region.
MAY 15, 2023 — The NOAA Marine Debris Program's (MDP) Chief Scientist, Amy V. Uhrin, and Research Coordinator, Carlie Herring, presented posters at the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) 33rd Annual European Meeting held April 30 - May 4 in Dublin, Ireland.
MAY 15, 2023 — From May 9-11, scientists from multiple agencies, industry, and academia met in Seattle, Washington, to help prioritize the next generation of research related to shoreline effects from spilled oil.
MAY 8, 2023 — Gary Shigenaka, Scientist Emeritus with the NOAA Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R), gave the keynote address at the 2023 Blueprint Conference on Disasters + Resilience, hosted by Duke University Conservation Technology. He also served as a mentor and judge for the sustainable tech ideation competition as part of the conference.
MAY 8, 2023 — Twenty years ago, disaster struck along the picturesque coastline of Buzzards Bay, Rhode Island, where the barge Bouchard 120 ran aground on a ledge of bedrock on April 27, 2003. A gash in its hull released 98,000 gallons of fuel oil, polluting nearly 100 miles of Massachusetts and Rhode Island shorelines. The spill damaged many salt marshes and other coastal habitats, killed and injured fish, shellfish, terns, loons, and other bird species, and closed shellfishing and other public uses of coastal resources.
MAY 8, 2023 — NOAA’s Southeast and Caribbean Regional Collaboration Team (SECART) recently partnered with the Office of Response and Restoration’s (OR&R) Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) to hold a two-day all-hazards workshop in the Charleston, South Carolina area.
April 2023
MAY 1, 2023 — This month, the Assessment and Restoration Division's Bryand Duke and his co-authors published their work on PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) uptake by talitrids via habitat (sand) and food (kelp) exposure.
MAY 1, 2023 — On April 21, Vice President Harris announced that the Department of Commerce recommended $562 million in funding to make communities and the economy more resilient to climate change through 149 projects in 30 states and territories, as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda.
MAY 1, 2023 — Recently, NOAA gave a presentation on the CAMEO® software suite—as well as a sneak peek at an upcoming software program redesign—to emergency planners from across the country at the annual National Association of SARA Title III Program Officials (NASTTPO) conference.
MAY 1, 2023 — On April 21, the Office of Response and Restoration participated in the "From Single-use to Reuse: Earth Day Event to Highlight the Growing Reuse Movement" at The Anthem in Washington, D.C. Hosted by Upstream and the World Wildlife Fund, the event brought together stakeholders for a discussion about the importance of reuse to curb plastic pollution and to showcase reuse systems that reduce single-use plastic waste.
MAY 1, 2023 — On April 19, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a proposed settlement with LLOG Exploration Offshore, LLC, valued at $3.1 million, to resolve their liability for natural resource injuries resulting from a pipeline spill that discharged oil into the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
MAY 1, 2023 — On April 20, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s education specialist, Alexandria Gillen, presented at the National Science Teaching Association Science Update webinar series.
APRIL 24, 2023 — The week of March 20, 2023, NOAA Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) staff attended and presented at the American Salvage Association Marine Salvage Response Course in Alameda, California. OR&R was represented by the California regional coordinator for the Marine Debris Program, Christy Kehoe, and scientific support coordinator (SSC) with the Emergency Response Division, Cmdr. Faith Knighton.
NOAA Marine Debris Program Awards Funding to 14 New Projects Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
APRIL 24, 2023 — On April 21, the NOAA Marine Debris Program announced the 14 recommended recipients of our NOAA Marine Debris Removal awards for Fiscal Years 2022 and 2023, totaling over $69 million in federal funding for marine debris removal. Funding for this opportunity was provided through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and leveraged funds from the Inflation Reduction Act.
APRIL 24, 2023 — A proposed bankruptcy settlement for Maxus Energy Corp. was filed on April 7, 2023. The proposed settlement includes approximately $80 million to NOAA and the U.S. Department of the Interior related to natural resource damages claims in connection with the Diamond Alkali Superfund Site (Lower Passaic River, New Jersey).
APRIL 24, 2023 — On April 14, the NOAA Marine Debris Program California regional coordinator, Christy Kehoe, joined the “Help the Kelp” marine debris art exhibit unveiling, led by California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI) and the Santa Barbara Zoo. The exhibit unveiling was a part of the "Conservation Partnership Celebration" event, which highlighted growing initiatives in support of the local environment.
APRIL 17, 2023 — From April 3 - April 7, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Northeast regional coordinator, Demi Fox, joined a marine debris removal effort led by the Center for Coastal Studies on Cuttyhunk Island, Massachusetts, funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through a collaboration with Restore America’s Estuaries.
The U.S. District Court finalized a settlement between the members of the Elliott Bay Trustee Council and Lynden, Inc. and related companies (collectively, Lynden), which will fund habitat restoration along the Lower Duwamish River in Seattle, Washington.
APRIL 17, 2023 — Extreme heat is one of the leading causes of weather-related illness and death in the United States, causing more fatalities in a typical year than hurricanes, tornadoes, severe storms, and floods. As climate change continues to increase the likelihood of weather extremes, the impacts of heat on communities—especially on their most vulnerable citizens—is likely to worsen.
APRIL 17, 2023 — On March 22, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Northeast regional coordinator, Demi Fox, joined NOAA Fisheries staff to speak with a dozen students from Gloucester High School’s Gender Equity and STEM club. The group was especially interested in hearing from women about the career path that led them to the work they do at NOAA.
APRIL 17, 2023 — On March 30, the NOAA Ocean Podcast featured the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s chief scientist, Amy V. Uhrin, who spoke about the importance of seagrasses in coastal environments.
APRIL 3, 2023 — On March 21, 2022, the Tug Western Mariner ran aground in Neva Strait, north of Sitka, Alaska, resulting in a diesel oil spill. OR&R has been providing support for the response and damage assessment for the spill since the incident occurred.
APRIL 3, 2023 — On March 29, the NOAA Marine Debris Program, within the Office of Response and Restoration, released the “Puerto Rico Marine Debris Emergency Response Guide.” The guide is a product of a collaborative process with territorial and federal agencies. This work aims to improve preparedness for responding to marine debris after disasters in Puerto Rico.
March 2023
MARCH 27, 2023 — This week, OR&R scientists worked with the U.S. Coast Guard during ice-breaking in Lake Superior Harbor in Duluth, Minnesota, aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Spar. The project, funded by the Great Lakes Center of Expertise, demonstrates our ability to conduct uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) missions from an operating Coast Guard cutter.
MARCH 27, 2023 — On March 15, the NOAA Marine Debris Program, within the Office of Response and Restoration, wrapped up a month of partner-led virtual workgroup meetings to discuss the California Ocean Litter Strategy. The meetings brought together over 50 partners from across the state and included a diverse set of sectors, including state agencies, nonprofits, private organizations, and academia.
MARCH 27, 2023 — From March 6-10, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Pacific Island Regional team, Mark Manuel and Shanelle Naone, traveled to the island of Tutuila in American Samoa to meet with partners and students.
MARCH 27, 2023 — Extreme heat is one of the leading causes of weather-related illness and death in the United States, causing more fatalities in a typical year than hurricanes, tornadoes, severe storms, and floods. As climate change continues to increase the likelihood of weather extremes, the impacts of heat on communities—especially on their most vulnerable citizens—is likely to worsen.
MARCH 13, 2023 — On March 1, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and the government of Mexico’s Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales hosted a two-day workshop “Mitigation of Marine Litter and Ghost Nets in Mexico: Building Awareness of Efforts” in Mexico City, Mexico.
MARCH 13, 2023 — On March 2, 2023, members of the response community had the opportunity to brief the San Juan Island Council Members on the challenges and successes from the F/V Aleutian Isle response at the Council Chambers on San Juan Island, Washington.
MARCH 13, 2023 — Last month, staff from NOAA's Marine Debris Program, within the Office of Response and Restoration, presented to a tour group from the Pacific branch of the Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance (CFE-DM). CFE-DM is a U.S. Department of Defense organization that builds crisis response capacity and enhances coordination and collaboration with civilian and foreign partners.
MARCH 6, 2023 — Last month, staff from NOAA's Marine Debris Program, within the Office of Response and Restoration, spoke about the issue of abandoned and derelict vessels at a public event in Cape May, New Jersey.
MARCH 6, 2023 — Last month, staff from NOAA's Marine Debris Program, within the Office of Response and Restoration, participated in the two-day St. Petersburg Science Festival.
MARCH 6, 2023 — In early December 2022, the Disaster Response Center in Mobile, Alabama installed its new Davis weather station and launched Davis WeatherLink Live.
MARCH 6, 2023 — Last month, the NOAA Marine Debris Program led the first virtual workshop to create the Southern New England Marine Debris Action Plan.
MARCH 6, 2023 — Extreme heat is one of the leading causes of weather-related illness and death in the United States, causing more fatalities in a typical year than hurricanes, tornadoes, severe storms, and floods. As climate change continues to increase the likelihood of weather extremes, the impacts of heat on communities—especially on their most vulnerable citizens—is likely to worsen.
February 2023
FEB. 27, 2023 — Between Feb. 7-11, the NOAA Marine Debris Program, within the Office of Response and Restoration, trained coastal community members from the Caribbean to participate in the NOAA Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project (MDMAP). The project engages NOAA partners and volunteers around the world to survey and record the amount and types of marine debris on shorelines.
FEB. 27, 2023 — On Feb. 7, NOAA staff joined a group of other local organizations in a night of learning and exploration with students and families at Kapolei Elementary’s STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) night.
FEB. 27, 2023 — Earlier this month, staff from NOAA’s Office of Response & Restoration attended the 2023 Coastal GeoTools conference in Charleston, South Carolina.
FEB. 27, 2023 — The United States Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee will hold a virtual public meeting on March 15, 2023, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET. The public meeting will include presentations from the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Agency for International Development on their relevant marine debris-related activities.
FEB. 27 — From Feb. 6-10, the NOAA Marine Debris Program, within the Office of Response and Restoration, attended and facilitated marine debris presentation and listening sessions at the Alaska Forum on the Environment.
FEB. 13, 2023 — NOAA and partners recently released a new report on oil slick thickness, "Comparing Recent Advances in Estimating and Measuring Oil Slick Thickness: An MPRI Technical Report."
FEB. 13, 2023 — Last week, NOAA's Marine Debris Program, within the Office of Response and Restoration, released the report, "Recycling Opportunities for Abandoned, Derelict, and End-of-Life Recreational Vessels."
FEB. 13, 2023 — Last month, the NOAA Marine Debris Program, within the Office of Response and Restoration, participated in an “Expert Is In” program at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.
FEB. 13, 2023 — Last month, NOAA's Marine Debris Program, within the Office of Response and Restoration, presented at the workshop “Data and Harmonization to Improve the Circularity of Plastics” hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
FEB. 6, 2023 — The Department of Justice lodged a consent decree on Jan. 30, 2023, that proposes a settlement with Lynden Inc. and others to resolve claims related to releases of hazardous waste pollution on the Lower Duwamish River in Seattle.
FEB. 6, 2023 — The Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Program recently released new digital data for both Lake Erie and the Atlantic shoreline of East Florida.
FEB. 6, 2023 — NOAA and other federal, state, and tribal natural resource trustees have released a Draft Damage Assessment Plan for the St. Louis River / U.S. Steel site in Duluth, Minnesota, and are soliciting public comments.
FEB. 6, 2023 — Last month, staff from NOAA Marine Debris Program, within the Office of Response and Restoration, presented to a group of educators participating in a Gulf of Mexico Bay Watershed Education and Training project.
FEB. 6, 2023 — The U.S. Coast Guard has recognized two OR&R Scientific Support Coordinators — CDR Faith Knighton and LTJG Kyle Vincent — with a Coast Guard Meritorious Team Commendation for their involvement in the incident management team for the recovery of the F/V Aleutian Isle.
FEB. 6, 2023 — Last month the NOAA Marine Debris Program, within the Office of Response and Restoration, hosted a workshop on national implementation of NOAA’s Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project.
January 2023
JAN. 30, 2023 —On Jan. 26, 2023, the NOAA Marine Debris Program, within the Office of Response and Restoration, released its 2022 Accomplishments Report.
JAN. 30, 2023 — After a public comment period, on Jan. 25, 2023 a settlement was finalized to resolve claims related to hazardous waste pollution from the du Pont de Nemours and Company (Dupont Hay Road) site on the Delaware River in Wilmington, Delaware.
JAN. 30, 2023 — Two virtual public meetings were held on Jan. 25, 2023, to inform the public about the status of the natural resource damage assessment being conducted for the Pipeline P00547 oil spill off of the coast of Huntington Beach, California. Restoration project ideas were also solicited.
JAN. 30, 2023 — On Jan. 25, 2023, the NOAA Marine Debris Program California regional coordinator presented at the Center for Watershed Protection 2023 Watershed and Stormwater Webcast Series.
JAN. 30, 2023 — The Office of Response and Restoration is gearing up for a busy year of training! We are excited to be back in-person, with our classic and most popular Science of Oil Spills (SOS) classes being offered in three locations across the country this year:
JAN. 23, 2023 — The Gulf of Mexico Alliance’s Marine Debris Cross-Team Initiative held its annual two-day meeting on Jan. 10-11 to bring together entities from across the gulf that currently address marine debris issues.
JAN. 23, 2023 — Christy Kehoe, regional coordinator for California in NOAA's Marine Debris Program, within the Office of Response and Restoration, presented at the National Fisheries Institute Seafood Science and Regulatory Forum to kick off the Global Seafood Market Conference on Jan. 15.
JAN. 23, 2023 — NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration and the University of New Hampshire’s Coastal Response Research Center hosted a virtual workshop on harmful algal blooms on Jan. 17-18. The primary focus of the workshop was communication, preparedness, and response — across the federal government, state agencies, and other key partners — for harmful algal blooms in the Great Lakes region.
In 2022, NOAA helped to recover over $114 million from polluters to restore six waterways following oil spill and industrial pollution incidents in Hawaii, Louisiana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
JAN. 13, 2023 — On Dec. 20, 2022 a settlement was proposed to resolve claims related to the hazardous waste pollution from the du Pont de Nemours and Company (Dupont Hay Road) site on the Delaware River in Wilmington, Delaware. Of the total settlement of $1,071,755.84, $808,500 is proposed for restoration activities and $263,255.84 will be allocated to the natural resource trustees for reimbursement of their natural resource damages assessment costs.
Opportunity to Provide Input on Restoration for the Pipeline P00547 Oil Spill in Southern California
JAN. 13, 2023 — The public is invited to two virtual meetings to learn about efforts to assess the impacts of an October 2021 oil spill and solicit input for potential restoration actions. The meetings, scheduled for Jan. 25, 2023, will be hosted by state and federal trustee agencies for natural resources impacted by the Pipeline P00547 oil spill off the coast of Huntington Beach in Southern California.
JAN. 13, 2023 — On Dec. 13, after a busy fall season of incident response, members of the Incident Management Division of U.S. Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound visited the NOAA Western Regional Center in Seattle.
December 2022
DEC. 19, 2022 — On Dec. 7, the 2022 Hawai‘i Marine Debris Action Plan Research Webinar Series concluded after taking place throughout November and December.
DEC. 19, 2022 — On Dec. 13, following a competitive review process, the NOAA Marine Debris Program and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation announced the five recipients of the 2022 Hurricane Response Marine Debris Removal Fund.
DEC. 19, 2022 — After plowing a path of destruction through the Caribbean, Hurricane Ian struck Florida on Sept. 28 and moved up the East Coast, with damaging winds, severe flooding, and life-threatening storm surge.
DEC. 19, 2022 — On Dec. 5-9, the NOAA Marine Debris Program, in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Trash Free Waters Program, hosted a virtual workshop to identify actions and strategies for the implementation of the Puerto Rico Strategic Plan to Reduce Aquatic Debris.
DEC. 19, 2022 — Extreme heat is one of the leading causes of weather-related illness and death in the United States, causing more fatalities in a typical year than hurricanes, tornadoes, severe storms, and floods. As climate change continues to increase the likelihood of weather extremes, the impacts of heat on communities—especially on their most vulnerable citizens—is likely to worsen.
DEC. 12, 2022 — On Nov. 29, the 2022 Young Pacific Leaders cohort visited the Inouye Regional Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, for a facility tour and presentations from NOAA team members. The Young Pacific Leaders Program is organized by the U.S. government and aims to build the leadership capabilities of youth in the region and strengthen ties between the United States and the Pacific.
DEC. 12, 2022 — On Nov. 22 2022, the Journal of Benefit Cost Analysis published “Discounting in Natural Resource Damage Assessment '' by OR&R’s economists Cameron Duff, Chris Giguere, and Jason Murray, and co-authors from Industrial Economics and the University of Wisconsin.
DEC. 12, 2022 — In early October, NOAA OR&R scientists participated in a functional tabletop exercise in Anacortes, Washington. The purpose of the exercise was to demonstrate the capability of the oil industry and other agencies working together to develop an oil spill response plan that is used to minimize and mitigate the impacts of an oil spill.
DEC. 12, 2022 — The Office of Response and Restoration Disaster Preparedness Program serves a vital role for the National Ocean Service’s preparedness and continuity of operations planning. This November, the program celebrated a major milestone — five years of preparing partners and communities to respond to and recover from disasters. Their work is growing in importance and demand as coastal disasters become more frequent and severe.
DEC. 12, 2022 — Last week, NOAA OR&R and NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service’s Pacific Regional Office, in collaboration with U.S. Coast Guard District 14, hosted an Environmental Consultation Seminar in Honolulu, Hawaii.
DEC. 5, 2022 — On Nov. 3, scientists from the Southeast region in OR&R’s Assessment & Restoration Division prepared to assess oil spill impacts on beaches by testing a beach porewater sampling protocol.
DEC. 5, 2022 — On Feb.15-16, 2022, the Coastal Response Research Center and NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration co-sponsored a virtual workshop entitled “Greater Houston Area Bottlenose Dolphin Data Gaps.”
DEC. 5, 2022 — On Nov. 17, the NOAA Marine Debris Program coordinated and presented at the bi-annual California Ocean Litter Prevention Strategy webinar. The webinar brought together over 80 partners across the state and included a diverse set of sectors including state agencies, nonprofits, policy-makers, and academia.
DEC. 5, 2022 — In late September 2022, the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) released a pre-publication version of Oil in the Sea IV: Inputs, Fate and Effects.
DEC. 5, 2022 – The Office of Response and Restoration attended the 2022 Clean Gulf Conference in New Orleans from Nov. 8-10, with representation from the director, senior scientist, scientific support coordinators and scientists, and Assessment and Restoration staff.
DEC. 5, 2022 — OR&R scientists hosted a booth at the “Scientist at Sea Research Symposium” put on by local Eckerd College to showcase student research.
November 2022
NOV. 21, 2022 – The Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster took place more than a dozen years ago, beginning on April 20, 2010, but the recovery process continues to this day.
NOV. 21, 2022 — Recently, NOAA and the Environmental Protection Agency jointly released their annual updates for CAMEO Data Manager and Tier2 Submit™, two programs that aid emergency organizations in preparing for and responding to chemical emergencies.
NOV. 21, 2022 — On Nov. 3, the NOAA Marine Debris Program released an updated toolbox of materials to help assess marine debris on shorelines through NOAA’s Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project (MDMAP).
NOV. 21, 2022 — On Nov. 8, the NOAA Marine Debris Program Deputy Division Chief MaryLee Haughwout presented at a River Management Society Education Roundtable webinar titled “Talking Trash: Approaches to prevent, intercept, and remove ocean bound plastic and debris.” MaryLee shared the stage with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service colleague Glenn Constant.
NOV. 7, 2022 — On Oct. 26, representatives from NOAA’s National Ocean Service and the Marine Debris Program, within NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration, presented to more than 200 middle and high school students at a unique field trip opportunity in Washington D.C.
NOV. 7, 2022 — The Office of Response and Restoration recently participated in the final of four multi-agency hotwashes to debrief the F/V Aleutian Isle sinking incident that occurred in the San Juan Islands in the state of Washington.
NOV. 7, 2022 — For the first time in three years, U.S. Coast Guard District 9 held an Incident Management Team round-up training event in Camp Grayling, Michigan.
NOV. 7, 2022 — Two significant oil spills that occurred in the late 1980s—the barge Nestucca, which spilled more than 230,000 gallons of No. 6 fuel oil into the Pacific Ocean near Grays Harbor, Washington, and the Exxon Valdez spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska—led to the formation of an oil spill task force in 1989 between Washington State and British Columbia.
NOAA Marine Debris Program Joins Sustainability Leaders on the Water to Discuss Microfiber Pollution
NOV. 7, 2022 — On Oct. 27, NOAA Marine Debris Program staff attended Materevolve’s Textiles x Ocean Connector Sail Event in San Francisco Bay, California. The goal of the event was to bring sustainability leaders together to discuss important topics at the intersection of textiles and ocean.
October 2022
OCT. 31, 2022 — Nearly half of all Americans are exposed to potentially damaging earthquakes where they work and live. Still, others will be at risk when traveling. It’s a good idea for everyone, everywhere to know how to protect themselves during an earthquake.
OCT. 24, 2022 — In early October, OR&R Director Scott Lundgren, along with several OR&R scientists, traveled to Halifax, Nova Scotia to participate in the International Oil Spill Science conference. This conference was an in-depth scientific conference capping the first phase of the Canada Multi-Partner Research Initiative funded under Canada's Oceans Protection Plan.
OCT. 24, 2022 — A new map synthesizes more than 30 years of NOAA oil spill and hazardous waste pollution settlements. In total, NOAA has helped recover $10.6 billion for restoration from settlements across the United States.
OCT. 24, 2022 — On Oct. 13, Christy Kehoe, the California regional coordinator for the NOAA’s Marine Debris Program, within the Office of Response and Restoration, presented at the virtual California State University Channel Islands Women in Conservation Session Speaker Series.
OCT. 24, 2022 — On Oct. 6, Andrew Mason, the Pacific Northwest regional coordinator for NOAA's Marine Debris Program shared his NOAA career story, including that of starting as an intern before becoming a contractor and eventually a federal employee, with seniors from Highline High School in the Seattle area.
OCT. 21, 2022 — On Oct. 19-20, OR&R was represented by Scott Lundgren, Aaron Parker, and LT Steven Wall at two information exchange forums with the oil spill response community.
OCT. 17, 2022 — Approximately one year ago on Oct. 1, 2021, the Pipeline P00547 (Huntington Beach) oil spill occurred in Southern California. An underwater pipeline running from Platform Elly to Long Beach spilled an estimated 25,000 gallons of crude oil into San Pedro Bay.
OCT. 17, 2022 — From Sept. 27-28, the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP), within the Office of Response and Restoration, participated in the Virginia Marine Debris Summit hosted in Virginia Beach, Virginia. This gathering brought together local, state, and federal marine debris and plastic pollution experts in focused discussion around tackling the challenges of consumer debris throughout the commonwealth.
OCT. 17, 2022 — On Sept. 27, the NOAA Marine Debris Program Alaska Regional Coordinator Peter Murphy presented as part of a NOAA Live! webinar titled “Keeping Alaska's Coastline Clean: What You Can Do about Marine Debris in Your Community.”
OCT. 17, 2022 — With a team of instructors led by Scientific Support Coordinator Frank Csulak, NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration hosted a Science of Oil Spills class in the mid-Atlantic region the week of Sept. 12, 2022.
OCT. 17, 2022 — On Oct. 6, the NOAA Marine Debris Program, within the Office of Response and Restoration, proudly announced that the 2023 Marine Debris Calendar is now available for download!
OCT. 17, 2022 — OR&R’s Emergency Response Division recently completed an update to the guide book, Oil and Sea Turtles: Biology, Planning, and Response.
OCT. 17, 2022 — Following the 7th International Marine Debris Conference, held Sept. 19-23 in Busan, South Korea, NOAA Marine Debris Program Chief Scientist Amy V. Uhrin was invited to tour the facilities at the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology's South Sea Research Institute on Geoje Island, South Korea.
OCT. 17, 2022 — OR&R biologist and Environmental Sensitivity Index Program Manager Nicolle Rutherford presented at a series of conferences and workshops in September to share the benefits and uses of Environmental Sensitivity Index maps and data.
OCT. 17, 2022 — Sept. 21-22, 2022 marked the inaugural workshop welcoming the establishment of the U.S. Coast Guard National Center of Expertise for the Great Lakes. The workshop convened NCOE stakeholders who shared information about current research projects, identified research gaps, and prioritized opportunities to advance oil spill response capabilities in the Great Lakes.
OCT. 3, 2022 — On Sept. 21, NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Northeast Regional Coordinator Demi Fox participated in an on-water Rapid Assessment Team during an oil spill exercise on the Piscataqua River.
OCT. 3, 2022 — On Sept. 28, the NOAA Marine Debris Program, within the Office of Response and Restoration, announced the 14 recipients of our 2022 Removal and Prevention Grant awards totaling nearly $3.7 million in federal funds, including funding provided through the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Implementation Act.
September 2022
SEPT. 26, 2022 — On Sept. 18-23, 2022, staff from NOAA's Marine Debris Program, within the Office of Response and Restoration, supported and participated in the 7th International Marine Debris Conference in Busan, Republic of Korea.
SEPT. 26, 2022 — On Sept. 15 and 16, the 13th Natural Resources Symposium "Natural Resources at a Crossroads" reconvened at George Washington University.
SEPT. 26, 2022 — When things don’t go as planned, and oil hits the water, people have many questions that need answers. Where will the oil go? What can be done to clean it up? How badly did it damage the environment? What is the best way to clean up the oil without making things worse? Luckily, NOAA scientists from the Office of Response and Restoration have the background and expertise to help answer each of these questions.
SEPT. 19, 2022 — OR&R has released a brief survey to evaluate the amount of human-use data for inclusion in Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps.
SEPT. 19, 2022 — On Sept. 1, 2022, the Office of Response and Restoration’s Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA) team released a new version of the application. The overhauled look and layout focuses on providing a streamlined interface to visualize and explore spatial data.
SEPT. 19, 2022 — On Sept. 15, NOAA's Marine Debris Program and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Trash Free Waters Program, on behalf of the Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee, shared a draft Report on Microfiber Pollution for public comment.
SEPT. 19, 2022 — On Sept. 29, 2022, the Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee (IMDCC) will hold a virtual public meeting, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. ET. The public meeting will focus on federal efforts to address abandoned and derelict vessels.
SEPT. 19, 2022 — Staff from OR&R’s Emergency Response Division participated in a worst-case oil spill response exercise conducted by ExxonMobil in Guam from Sept. 12-14.
SEPT. 12, 2022 — NOAA has awarded a contract to refresh the Environmental Sensitivity Index maps and data for Lake Ontario. The work has already begun, and will be completed by the end of September 2023.
SEPT. 12, 2022 — OR&R’s Emergency Response Division participated in an event sponsored by U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM)—Disaster Response for Oil Spill and Mass Rescue Exchange—held in Port Louis, Mauritius on Aug. 22-26.
SEPT. 12, 2022 — Recently, NOAA Marine Debris Program grants specialist and lead coordinator of the National Ocean Service Zero Waste Team, Amanda Dwyer, received a Business Waste Reduction and Recycling Champion award from Montgomery County, Maryland. She was one of 22 individuals, businesses, and organizations honored from across Montgomery County for outstanding achievement in recycling, waste reduction, and reuse.
SEPT. 12, 2022 — On Aug. 31, the NOAA Marine Debris Program wrapped up a month of partner-led virtual workgroup meetings to discuss the California Ocean Litter Strategy (OLS). The meetings brought together over 75 partners across the state and included a diverse set of sectors including state agencies, nonprofits, private organizations, and academia.
August 2022
AUG. 29, 2022 — On Aug. 18, scientists from the Coastal Response Research Center at University of New Hampshire hosted Nicole LeBoeuf, National Ocean Service assistant administrator, and Chrissy Hayes after their visit to the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping / Joint Hydrographic Center.
AUG. 29, 2022 — Last week, OR&R Director Scott Lundgren and Senior Scientist Lisa DiPinto joined the U.S. Coast Guard, NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) Director Deborah Lee and others for the ribbon cutting ceremony for the grand opening of the Great Lakes National Center of Expertise (NCOE).
AUG. 29, 2022 — On Aug. 17-18, 2022, NOAA Marine Debris Program staff served on the United States delegation to the 19th meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Oceans and Fisheries Working Group.
AUG. 22, 2022 — OR&R staff met with congressional committee staffers from the U.S. House Space, Science, and Technology Committee, as well as a staff member from the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee – Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee at the NOAA Western Regional Center on Aug. 8, 2022.
AUG. 22, 2022 — On Aug. 12, Sam Rauch, NOAA Fisheries Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, spoke on behalf of NOAA at the BASF Corporation’s Groundbreaking for the East Newark Riverfront Park project in East Newark, New Jersey.
AUG. 22, 2022 — Later this year and in 2023, a cross-divisional team within OR&R will address the science of per- and poly-fluorinated substances (PFAS) in aqueous fire-fighting foams (AFFF).
AUG. 22, 2022 — On Aug. 16, 2022, a new NOAA publication, "Towards a North Pacific long-term monitoring program for ocean plastic pollution: A systematic review and recommendations for shorelines," was published in the journal Environmental Pollution.
AUG. 22, 2022 — On July 26, 2022, OR&R's Disaster Preparedness Program and the Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) partnered to exercise the Real-Time Currents and Meteorological Buoys (affectionately known as CURBY).
AUG. 22, 2022 — One of the primary ways OR&R supports the U.S. Coast Guard during oil spills is by providing trajectories (oil spill transport forecasts) which help in determining where the oil will go so that the appropriate response (cleanup or protection) strategies can be planned for and implemented.
AUG. 22, 2022 — On July 27, 2022, the Federal Emergency Management Agency requested NOAA scientific support for a declared emergency on St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands due to impacts on the island’s water supply from high concentrations of sargassum.
AUG. 15, 2022 — On Aug. 3-4, 2022, the NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration held the Gulf of Mexico Resource Advisor (RA) Training. The goal of this two-day virtual training was to ensure coastal resource managers understand the role of an RA and have the tools needed to fulfill the role in the field successfully.
AUG. 15, 2022 — On Aug. 3, 2022, NOAA Marine Debris Program Mid-Atlantic Regional Coordinator Katie Morgan attended an outreach event in Fenwick Island, Delaware, organized by Delaware Sea Grant.
AUG. 8, 2022 — On July 28, 2022, NOAA Marine Debris Program Northeast Regional Coordinator Demi Fox attended a Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment meeting in Portland, Maine, to join a presentation on marine debris prevention and removal efforts underway in Canada and the United States.
AUG. 8, 2022 — Two OR&R scientists were recently recognized with a prestigious Department of State Honor Award for their work as part of the National Response Team (NRT) supporting environmental crises in other nations.
AUG. 8, 2022 — On July 20-21, 2022, the Northwest Area Committee (NWAC) hosted an Oiled Shoreline Response Workshop at the Naval Air Station on Whidbey Island, Washington. Attendees represented the response community with over forty federal, state, tribal, and industry participants.
July 2022
AUG. 1, 2022 — The week of July 18, 2022, NOAA Marine Debris Program staff participated in a tour of partner projects being conducted in the greater San Diego area.
AUG. 1, 2022 — Scientists from OR&R have partnered with the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards, the Coastal Response Research Center (a partnership between OR&R and the University of New Hampshire), and remote sensing consultants at Water Mapping, LLC to advance our ability to respond to and assess impacts from spills in the Arctic.
AUG. 1, 2022 — During the week of July 11, 2022, OR&R’s Emergency Response Division held the first in-person Science of Oil Spill class since 2019, training 41 students from five federal agencies, four state agencies, five international agencies, and four industrial companies at NOAA’s Western Regional Center in Seattle.
AUG. 1, 2022 — In 2019, a planning committee was formed to schedule class dates, define the class location, and narrow down field sites for NOAA’s Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Technique (SCAT) class.
AUG. 1, 2022 — The U.S. Coast Guard Sector Sault Sainte Marie and U.S. Oil (a division of U.S. Venture) held a successful field exercise in Rogers City, Michigan on July 19, 2022.
AUG. 1, 2022 — Beginning in April 2020, in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, a small team in OR&R’s Emergency Response Division began sharing knowledge in the form of live, virtual lectures on emergency spill response, environmental protection, and related topics.
AUG. 1, 2022 — This is the first of a new quarterly series on the public use of the CAMEO Suite. Our goal is to tell a more complete story here rather than just the “numbers,” getting into more of what they mean.
AUG. 1, 2022 – For the past few years, the U.S. Department of the Interior has offered the webinar series “Inland Oil Spill for DOI Response” to share pertinent lectures and topics of interest to the DOI spill response community.
AUG. 1 — On July 22, 2022, NOAA Marine Debris Program Education Specialist Alexandria Brake and California Sea Grant Marine Debris Extension Fellow Tanya Torres led an impactful workshop for science educators focused on the Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project (MDMAP) at the National Science Teaching Association’s national conference.
JULY 25, 2022 — On July 11, 2022, NOAA Marine Debris Program Education Specialist Alexandria Brake led two workshops for students and educators. Alexandria presented on “Pesky Plastics” at the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School’s Virtual Engineering Exploration Experience, the first day of a five-week program bringing together experts in various fields to inspire students to consider solutions to complex global problems.
JULY 25, 2022 — On July 13, 2022, NOAA Marine Debris Program California Regional CoordinatorChristy Kehoe and Southeast Regional Coordinator Sarah Latshaw presented at the United States Coast Guard Sector San Francisco and Sector Delta Abandoned and Derelict Vessels Quarterly Meeting. The meeting brought together more than 30 ADV experts from across the San Francisco and Sacramento Delta area in Northern California.
JULY 25, 2022 — On July 13, 2022, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Gulf of Mexico Regional Coordinator Caitlin Wessel presented at the Jackson County Soil and Water Conservation District’s teacher workshop.
JULY 18, 2022 — On June 30, 2022, Katie Morgan on behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Debris Program was invited to participate in the Rutgers Marine Extension Program Seminar Series (MEPSS).
JULY 18, 2022 — On June 22, 2022, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Coast Guard District 13, and Regional Response Team 10 held a Spill of National Significance Seminar in Astoria, Oregon.
JULY 18, 2022 — On July 6, 2022, the NOAA Marine Debris Program director, Nancy Wallace, joined colleagues from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and virtually met with representatives of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea.
JULY 18, 2022 — On July 6, 2022, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Debris Program California Regional Coordinator Christy Kehoe presented at the July Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Resource Protection and Permitting Cross-cut Meeting. The cross-cut meeting brought together over 15 Sanctuaries staff from across the country to focus on marine debris conversations impacting our sanctuaries.
JULY 18, 2022 — On July 9, 2022, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Debris Program staff joined Congressman Brian Higgins, Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper, Council of the Great Lakes Region, and New York State Parks at Buffalo Harbor State Park to announce the deployment of Seabin technology in their marina.
JULY 11, 2022 — On June 17, the Marine Debris Program's Pacific Northwest Regional Coordinator Andrew Mason and Monitoring Coordinator Hillary Burgess met with partners from the Grassroots Garbage Gang and Willapa Bay National Wildlife Refuge on the Long Beach peninsula of Washington.
JULY 11, 2022 — OR&R Director Scott Lundgren participated in an Environmental Justice vessel tour of the Harlem River hosted by Congressman Adriano Espaillat in conjunction with the Bronx and Harlem River Watersheds Urban Waters Federal Partnership, Harlem River Working Group, Bronx Council for Environmental Quality, Hudson River Foundation, and WE ACT.
JULY 11, 2022 — OR&R Director Scott Lundgren visited the joint OR&R and University of New Hampshire Coastal Response Research Center on June 23, 2022. This visit provided the opportunity to hear from the center’s staff, student researchers, and visiting University of Puerto Rico students working on OR&R-related CRRC projects and other related environmental projects at the university for two months during the summer.
JULY 11, 2022 — On June 21, 2022, the NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator for the Pacific Northwest CDR Faith Knighton and Regional Response Officer LTJG Kyle Vincent provided Shoreline Cleanup and Assessment Technique (SCAT) Field Training to 10 members from the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Columbia River.
JULY 11, 2022 — Scientists from NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration recently particpated in an Interspill conference held June 21-23, 2022 in Amsterdam. This event is part of the triumvirate series including the International Oil Spill Conference (U.S., 2024) and Spillcon (Australia, 2023).
JULY 11, 2022 — The nation’s ports are vital links for the movement of people and goods, and their protection is of critical importance. Recently, the manager of OR&R’s Environmental Sensitivity Index program and the chief of OR&R’s Emergency Response Division gave a presentation to the American Association of Port Authorities about the benefits of using ESI data to support port activities across the country.
JULY 11, 2022 — Recently, LCDR Rachel Pryor presented at the Environmental Emergency Management Conference hosted by Michigan’s Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy state department.
JULY 11, 2022 — OR&R's Disaster Preparedness Program is currently seeking a college intern who is passionate about disaster preparedness and excited to explore questions on human behavior and disasters.
JULY 11, 2022 — On June 14-16, 2022, the Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) partnered with the Homeland Security Program Office to hold NOAA’s National Level Exercise.
JULY 11, 2022 — In May, the Marine Debris Program welcomed Elena Aguilar as part of the NOAA Experiential Research and Training Opportunity internship program.
JULY 11, 2022 — On June 29, the NOAA Marine Debris Program announced the Fiscal Year 2022 NOAA Marine Debris Removal notice of funding opportunity. Funding for this opportunity is provided through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
JULY 11, 2022 — On June 28, NOAA Marine Debris Program Director, Nancy Wallace, participated in an official side event as part of the UN Ocean Conference. The virtual panel discussed the issue of plastic pollution with a specific emphasis on answering what key science and innovation is needed to tackle this global environmental challenge.
June 2022
JUNE 27, 2022 — On June 9, 2022, U.S. Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay was selected by the Migratory Bird Council to receive the Presidential Migratory Bird Stewardship Award. The award recognized the collective efforts of several Area Committee organizations, including the OR&R's Emergency Response Division, U.S Environmental Protection Agency, U.S Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research, Inc., and the States of Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
JUNE 27, 2022 — On June 21 and 22, NOAA's Marine Debris Program coordinated and presented at the virtual 2022 California Ocean Litter Prevention Strategy Implementation Workshop. The workshop brought together over 90 people from across the state and from a diverse set of sectors, including state agencies, nonprofits, private sector, and academia.
JUNE 27, 2022 — On June 3, NOAA Marine Debris Program team member Shanelle Naone presented to high school students from Leilehua High School (Wahiawā, O‘ahu) participating in the GEAR UP program.
JUNE 27, 2022 — OR&R has created a new landing page to highlight the work that our office does to contribute to Coastal Resilience.
JUNE 27, 2022 — Among the many hats that personnel from OR&R’s Emergency Response Division wear, one of their most critical roles are instructing federal and state agencies in the art of Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Technique (SCAT) and Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI). Preparing the U.S. Coast Guard and state spill response agencies allows for an effective incident response and protection of our nation's sensitive habitats.
JUNE 27, 2022 — On Saturday, June 11, NOAA's Assessment and Restoration Division and Restoration Center joined the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Hudson River Estuary Program during its World Fish Migration Day event at Lemon Creek Park in Staten Island, New York.
JUNE 13, 2022 — On May 24-25, 2022 OR&R’s Emergency Response Division presented at the Northwest Area Committees Environmental Unit Training.
JUNE 13, 2022 — Ruth Yender, scientific support coordinator for OR&R’s Emergency Response Division, participated in a U.S. Indo-Pacific Command-sponsored Oil Spill Response Workshop held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from June 6-10. The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command is one of six geographic combatant commands defined by the Department of Defense's Unified Command Plan.
JUNE 13, 2022 — On June 7, the U.S. Department of Justice and the federal natural resource trustees — the Fish and Wildlife Service/U.S. Department of the Interior and NOAA — announced an opportunity for public comment on a draft Interim settlement and crediting agreement with the BASF Corporation.
JUNE 13, 2022 — On March 21, 2022 the Tug Western Mariner ran aground in Neva Strait, north of Sitka, Alaska, resulting in a diesel oil spill. OR&R has been providing support for the response, cleanup, and damage assessment for the spill since the incident occurred.
JUNE 13, 2022 — During the week of May 23, NOAA Marine Debris Program California Regional Coordinator Christy Kehoe and Marine Debris California Sea Grant Extension Fellow Tanya Torres supported California State University Channel Islands Santa Rosa Island Research Station, a long-term grant partner, on a week-long site visit to remove and assess the amounts, types, and sources of marine debris on the Channel Islands.
JUNE 13, 2022 — On May 23, the Wildlife and Habitat Impacts Working Group of the Southeast Marine Debris Action Plan led a webinar to share the new app Tangled in Trash: A Reporting Tool For Wildlife. The webinar shared why collecting wildlife entanglement and ingestion data is important and demonstrated how users can report observations using the mobile or online version.
JUNE 13, 2022 — On June 2 and 3, 2022, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Debris Program, in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Trash Free Waters Program, hosted a virtual workshop, conducted in Spanish, for the development of an action plan that will contain strategic and coordinated actions to address the challenges of aquatic debris in Puerto Rico.
JUNE 6, 2022 — Last week, a collaborative research team led by NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration conducted experiments at the Ohmsett test tank facility in Leonardo, New Jersey. These experiments were the first conducted at the tank since the completion of the multi-month facility refurbishment.
JUNE 6, 2022 — On May 9, NOAA Marine Debris Program staff participated in Cedar Point Amusement Park's Physics, Math, and Science Days.
JUNE 6, 2022 — Protecting America’s waterways and coastal regions from the effects of oil and chemical spills is a collaborative mission, and OR&R’s Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) program strives to build a community of partners. On May 19, Nicolle Rutherford, ESI Program manager, gave a presentation on the available data and many uses of ESIs for Save the River, an organization in northern New York that serves as the Upper St. Lawrence Riverkeeper.
JUNE 6, 2022 — The National Ocean Service’s Office for Coast Survey demonstrated their new remotely operated uncrewed surface vessel system, the EchoBoat 240, in Annapolis, Maryland to a crowd of congressional staff and stakeholders.
JUNE 6, 2022 — A new article titled “Ecosystem-Service Scaling Techniques to Evaluate the Benefits of Marine Debris Removal'' was recently published in the Journal of Environmental Management. It establishes a new framework to calculate the benefits of removing marine debris from the environment.
JUNE 6, 2022 — On May 24, NOAA Marine Debris Program team member Shanelle Naone presented to students participating in a marine debris prevention program with Zero Waste Washington.
May 2022
MAY 23, 2022 — Recently, NOAA gave a virtual presentation on the CAMEO® software suite to emergency planners from across the country at the annual National Association of SARA Title III Program Officials (NASTTPO) conference.
MAY 23, 2022 — On May 17, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, in partnership with the NOAA Marine Debris Program, announced a request for proposals under the Hurricane Response Marine Debris Removal Fund.
MAY 23, 2022 — Even our youngest learners are eager to explore ocean issues and stewardship. On Monday, May 16, the Marine Debris Program virtually engaged with four first grade classes at Wai‘alae Elementary in Honolulu.
MAY 16, 2022 – From April 27-28, 2022, the NOAA OR&R Director Scott Lundgren and Senior Scientist Lisa DiPinto participated in the Annual Meeting of the Spill Control Association of America (SCAA) held in Savannah, Georgia.
MAY 16, 2022 – On April 27, OR&R Director Scott Lundgren joined officials from Department of Commerce and others from the federal interagency to take part in a component of the National Level Exercise (NLE) 2022, an exercise that also incorporates a declared Spill of National Significance exercise.
MAY 16, 2022 — The Annual Meeting of the NOAA Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Team was held May 3-5 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
MAY 16, 2022 — Earlier this month, the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) program’s fiscal year (FY) 2022 proposal to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) was approved for funding, allowing OR&R to refresh critical sensitivity data in the Great Lakes and drive the next generation of sensitive resource mapping nationwide.
MAY 9, 2022 — OR&R toxicologist and Alaska regional resource coordinator, Sarah Allan, co-authored a book chapter, Oil Spills in the Arctic, in a recently published book, Arctic One Health, Challenges for Northern Animals and People (Morten Tryland eds.).
MAY 9, 2022 – On Tuesday, May 3, OR&R and National Geodetic Survey staff attended the kick off of NOAA’s Hurricane Awareness Tour at Ronald Reagan National Airport, engaging with congressional staffers, media, and NOAA leadership. OR&R and NGS each play a pivotal role in hurricane preparedness, response, and recovery, from emergency response after a hurricane, to shoreline mapping imagery that helps emergency managers recover quickly from storms.
MAY 9 — As part of the United States Patent and Trademark Office's 2022 Virtual Green Fair, NOAA gave two keynote presentations for USPTO staff.
April 2022
MAY 2, 2022 – On April 21, Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) team members gathered for the first ever Intern Symposium, presented by three undergraduate interns from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
MAY 2, 2022 – Last week experts from OR&R’s Assessment and Restoration Division (ARD) participated in a workshop held by the National Marine Mammal Foundation and NOAA’s Restore Science Program.
MAY 2, 2022 – This week two experts from OR&R’s Assessment and Restoration Division, Bryand Duke and Ken Finkelstein, participated in the 25th annual National Ocean Science Bowl.
MAY 2, 2022 – On April 19, NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) staff presented to the Salish Sea Stewards on marine debris and the NOAA Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project (MDMAP).
APRIL 25, 2022 – OR&R’s Emergency Response Division works very closely with our state and federal natural resource trustees in southern Louisiana, often coordinating very closely during oil spills that threaten trustee resources and determining the cleanup strategies that offer the best protection for the environment. Occasionally, ERD receives the very special opportunity to go beyond our oil spill response role and we are invited to assist our partners with restoration of their important parks and refuges.
APRIL 15, 2022 — The Environmental Sensitivity Index program gave a briefing on Friday, April 15, 2022 for federal and state-level stakeholders in the Great Lakes region. Organized by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the briefing was an opportunity to create awareness among our partners regarding the ESI product, recent updates to ESI data, and changes to the ESI program, as some of them have not worked with the ESI products before.
APRIL 24, 2022 — On April 5, staff from the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) gave a virtual presentation at the hybrid International Plastic Pollution Summit hosted by Long Island University (LIU) and co-sponsored by the Global Council for Science and Environment and the Office for Science and Technology of the Embassy of France. The MDP's Chief Scientist, Amy V.
APRIL 24, 2022 — The NOAA Marine Debris Program and Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition's CoastWatch trained coastal community members to participate in the NOAA Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project. MDMAP engages NOAA partners and volunteers around the world to survey and record the amount and types of marine debris on shorelines.
APRIL 24, 2022 – OR&R Director Scott Lundgren was joined by OR&R science and emergency representatives Lisa DiPinto, Aaron Parker, and LT Steven Wall for the biennial Spills Advisory Group hosted by the American Petroleum Institute. This meeting brings together representatives of state and federal government, nongovernment organizations, academia, petroleum industry, and cleanup organizations for information sharing on spill preparedness and response.
APRIL 25, 2022 – The latest version of the CAMEO Chemicals hazardous materials database is now available, and it includes key emergency response data updates. The desktop and mobile app platforms have also been updated for the latest operating systems.
APRIL 18, 2022 — On April 6, Christy Kehoe, the California Regional Coordinator for the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) and California Sea Grant Extension Fellow, Tanya Torres, presented at the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific’s April 2022 Naturalist Program Meeting.
APRIL 18, 2022 — NOAA is bidding farewell to longtime chemist, Robert Jones, who recently retired from the Emergency Response Division (ERD) of the Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R).
APRIL 18, 2022 — Hurricanes and typhoons are powerful storms that cause loss of life and billions of dollars of destruction each year.
APRIL 18, 2022 — From March 28-30, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Pacific Island Regional Coordinator, Mark Manuel, participated in the Territorial Climate and Infrastructure Workshop hosted by the Department of Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs (D.O.I.).
APRIL 11, 2022 — On April 6, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced the inaugural board of directors for the new Marine Debris Foundation.
APRIL 11, 2022 — On Dec. 1, 2021, the day after the official end of the Atlantic hurricane season, the Disaster Preparedness Program kicked off continuous improvement efforts to prepare for the 2022 season.
APRIL 11, 2022 — On March 31, the 7th International Marine Debris Conference (7IMDC) launched a call for abstracts and posters, which is open until Friday, April 29, 2022. The 7IMDC is scheduled to take place from Sept. 18-23, 2022 in Busan, Republic of Korea.
APRIL 4, 2022 – On March 24, the Marine Debris Program's Monitoring Coordinator Hillary Burgess presented virtually at a "Workshop on Capacity Building on Marine Debris Monitoring by Using Innovative Technologies in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Region" hosted by the APEC Oceans and Fisheries Working Group and the Ocean Affairs Council of Chinese Taipei.
APRIL 4, 2022 — U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Sector Mobile recently completed the assessment operations for the WWII Liberty ship, Thomas Heyward, located in about 79 feet (24 meters) of water, four miles south of the Okaloosa Island Fishing Pier just north of the Pensacola-Panama City shipping lane. The vessel was intentionally sunk on April 14, 1977 off of Destin, Florida as an artificial reef structure.
APRIL 4, 2022 – Staff from the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) attended and gave presentations at the virtual 2022 Ocean Sciences Meeting, co-sponsored by the American Geophysical Union, the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography, and The Oceanography Society, held Feb 28 - March 4.
March 2022
MARCH 28, 2022 — On March 18, 2022 a settlement was finalized in Federal District Court to resolve claims related to the Taylor Energy Platform oil spill at Mississippi Canyon 20 (“MC-20”). $16.5 million of this settlement is to partially restore natural resources injured by the spill.
MARCH 28, 2022 — On Thursday, March 24, the Office of Response and Restoration hosted NOAA Administrator Richard Spinrad, at two project sites in northern New Jersey.
MARCH 28, 2022 — The Assessment and Restoration Division’s Megan Ewald and the Marine Debris Program’s Peter Murphy attended a multi-day virtual workshop, hosted by the Office for Coastal Management, titled Tribal Workshop: A New Lens for Engagement.
March 28, 2022 ─ On March 21-24, OR&R’s Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) held the second virtual offering of the “NOAA-specific ICS 300: Intermediate Incident Command System for Expanding Incidents” course, also known as ICS 300.
MARCH 21, 2022 — OR&R is happy to share a new challenge from our partners at Natural Resources Canada (NRCan).
March 21, 2022 – On March 12, Christy Kehoe, California Regional Coordinator for the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP), presented at the Ocean Institute's 2022 Virtual Marine and Environmental Sciences College and Career Fair. The event was attended by a national audience of college-bound students, along with their parents and counselors.
March 21, 2022 – On Saturday, March 12, students and families on the island of Kaua‘i kicked off Spring Break with Marine Debris 101 Educational Grab-and-Go Kits. Designed for both student and family learning by the Marine Debris Program, these educational kits provide a hands-on introduction to the marine debris issue.
March 21, 2022 – On March 4, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Pacific Island Regional Coordinator, Mark Manuel, participated in a Boys and Girls Club Wai‘anae Clubhouse ‘Ohana Night event. The outreach event took place on the island of O‘ahu, while Mark participated virtually from Hawai‘i Island.
MARCH 21, 2022 – Over the course of two afternoons on March 15 & 16, OR&R hosted a summit with NOAA developers of Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps and data.
MARCH 7, 2022 —This week the Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC) invited NOAA’s Senior Scientist Lisa DiPinto to the Baltimore Aquarium for an opportunity to brief representatives from Senator Shaheen’s staff about exciting dolphin research NOAA is leading with the Baltimore National Aquarium, the CRRC, and Johns Hopkins University.
MARCH 7, 2022 — Each year, NOAA’s Disaster Preparedness Program selects projects submitted by National Ocean Service (NOS) programs, as part of its Lagniappe Awards. (Lagniappe, a term often used in Louisiana, means “a little something extra.”)
MARCH 7, 2022 – On February 28th, the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) wrapped up a month of partner-led virtual workgroup meetings to discuss the California Ocean Litter Strategy (OLS).
MARCH 7, 2022 – On February 15, 2022, the College of Charleston Center for Sustainable Development (CSD) and Environmental Science Masters Program (EVSS Program) coordinated a networking event for undergraduate and graduate students to meet with and learn from professionals working in environmental fields.
February 2022
FEB. 28, 2022 — On Feb. 22 and 23, the NOAA Marine Debris Program hosted a virtual workshop to update the Gulf of Maine Marine Debris Action Plan.
FEB. 22, 2022 – Over recent weeks, the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) participated in outreach to the Alaska fishing industry and marine debris community stakeholders through two events. These engagements focused on the unique nature of debris issues in Alaska, emerging work, and future efforts and opportunities, including collaborative action planning.
FEB. 22, 2022 – On February 7th, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Pacific Island Regional Coordinator, Mark Manuel, provided a virtual presentation to the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo (UH-Hilo) Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science (TCBES) graduate seminar series.
FEB. 22, 2022 – On the afternoons of February 8-10, 2022, the Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) partnered with the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Team to hold a virtual tabletop exercise named “For Great Lakes’ Sake.” LT Rachel Pryor of the Emergency Response Division (ERD) co-hosted the first internal NOAA tabletop exercise in the Great Lakes along with DPP’s Emergency Management Specialist, Katie Krushinski.
FEB. 22, 2022 – On February 14th, 2022, a Consent Decree was entered finalizing $2.5 million to restore natural resources injured by releases of hazardous substances at Pearl Harbor in Oahu, Hawaii.
FEB. 22, 2022 – On February 14-15, Marine Debris Program (MDP) staff served on the United States delegation to the eighteenth meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Oceans and Fisheries Working Group (OFWG). APEC is an important multilateral forum facilitating collaboration among economies in the Asia Pacific region, and marine debris is a high priority topic of discussion for the OWFG, and other relevant APEC working groups.
FEB. 14, 2022 — On Feb. 14, 2022, the U.S. ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, is scheduled to visit a NOAA Marine Debris Program funded project site in Tijuana, Mexico. The project is being implemented by the nongovernmental organization, WILDCOAST, to reduce the amount of marine debris entering the Tijuana River from the Los Laureles Canyon tributary in Mexico.
FEB. 14, 2022 — In early February, the Marine Debris Program welcomed Benjamin Frey as a 2022 Knauss Fellow. The Knauss fellowship provides a unique educational and professional experience to graduate students who have an interest in the ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources, and in the national policy decisions affecting those resources.
FEB. 14, 2022 — In this month’s lecture in the OR&R lecture series, You Don't Know What You Don't Know, we have the pleasure of diving into the world of climatology, as we listen to Dr. Nick Bond discuss the impacts that climate change has in the Pacific Northwest and the associated hazards that threaten coastal marine ecosystems and coastal communities.
OR&R, NOAA Provide Mission Support for Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute Underwater Vehicle Mission
FEB. 7, 2022 — Staff across several NOAA offices, including OR&R, recently supported scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI) and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) who remotely piloted a Long-Range Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (LRAUV) to a leaking shipwreck for further study.
FEB. 7, 2022 – On January 25-26, 2022 the Gulf of Mexico Alliance’s Marine Debris Cross Team Initiative held its annual two-day meeting to bring together entities across the Gulf that currently address marine debris issues.
FEB. 7, 2022 — NOAA’s scientific support coordinator in the Great Lakes, LT Rachel Pryor, hosted two webinars in recent weeks.
FEB. 7, 2022 — As we closed out the fully virtual 2022 Alaska Marine Science Symposium, the Alaska Ocean Observing System (AOOS) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) hosted a unique webinar, convening U.S. and Russian experts to share information on fish populations in our shared (and neighboring) seas.
Disaster Preparedness Program Holds Incident Management Team 101 Training for National Ocean Service
FEB. 7, 2022 — OR&R's Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) held their National Ocean Service (NOS) Incident Management Team (IMT) 101 Training on Tuesday, January 25, 2022. The training included six modules specifically designed to provide NOS IMT members with an overview of their roles and responsibilities, as well as information on response management systems, tools, and best practices useful in managing all-hazards disasters.
January 2022
JAN. 31, 2022 — On Jan. 19, 2022, the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay Area Committee hosted a wind farm workshop for federal, state, and local government agencies, along with industry and nongovernmental environmental organization partners.
JAN. 31, 2022 — On Jan. 13, NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Coordinator Katie Morgan provided a virtual presentation and Q&A session to more than 120 fifth grade students across six classrooms at Spring Hill Elementary School in Virginia.
JAN 31, 2022 — It's a sight that nobody wants to encounter: an oil spill at your favorite local stretch of coastline. You may immediately think of the sea turtles trying to nest on the beach, but there is much more to protect than meets the eye.
Jan. 24, 2022 – On Jan. 18, 2022, a $15.3 million settlement was finalized in Federal District Court to restore natural resources damaged from the 2014 Texas City Y oil spill in Galveston Bay, Texas.
Jan. 24, 2022 – On Nov. 4, 2021 a settlement was finalized to resolve the liability of a dozen public utility companies for injuries to natural resources stemming from hazardous waste pollution at the Metal Bank Superfund site on the Delaware River in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Jan. 24, 2022 – The Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) has selected nine projects submitted by the National Ocean Service (NOS) programs for funding as part of the “Lagniappe Awards.”
JAN. 18, 2022 — The You Don't Know What You Don't Know Lecture Series from the Office of Response and Restoration kicks off its third year this week with a presentation from Nicolle Rutherford on the Environmental Sensitivity Index program.
JAN. 18, 2022 — Recently, NOAA and the Environmental Protection Agency jointly released their annual updates for CAMEO Data Manager and Tier2 Submit™, two programs that aid state and local emergency planners in preparing for and responding to chemical emergencies.
JAN. 18, 2022 — On Jan. 10, the Marine Debris Program hosted an information-sharing webinar for grant applicants. The goal of this webinar was to communicate the expectations for invited full proposal submissions to the MDP’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Prevention funding opportunity, provide clarity on what applicants could expect during the application submission process, and share the anticipated timeline and an overview of the competition and award process.
JAN. 18, 2022 – The NOAA Marine Debris Program is excited to announce that recordings for all the Salvaging Solutions to Abandoned and Derelict Vessels monthly webinar topics are now available on our webpage.
JAN. 10, 2022 — On Dec. 20, 2021, a settlement was proposed in Federal District Court to resolve claims related to the Taylor Energy Platform oil spill at Mississippi Canyon 20 (“MC-20”). $16.5 million of this settlement is to restore natural resources injured by the spill.
JAN. 10, 2022 — Researchers from the NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) and Oregon State University recently completed field operations in support of the NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations Office of Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) Program-funded project "Using Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Machine Learning, and Polarimetric Imaging to Develop a System for Enhanced Marine Debris Detection and Removal."
December 2021
DEC. 20, 2021 — On Dec. 9, members of the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment and its working group gathered virtually to share updates, review new work plans, and identify areas for collaboration.
DEC. 20, 2021 — On Dec. 3, 2021, a $15.3 million settlement was proposed in Federal District Court to restore natural resources damaged from the 2014 Texas City Y oil spill in Galveston Bay, Texas.
DEC. 20, 2021 —Former OR&R scientific support coordinators (SSCs) Steve Lehmann and Ann Hayward Walker recently participated in several of ExxonMobil’s 2021 "Oil Spill Response Knowledge Transfer Webinars," a series brought back after its success last year.
DEC. 20, 2021 — The Office of Response and Restoration released a report on Nov. 20 detailing the proceedings and recommendations of last year’s workshop on the Next Generation of the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) program and products
Disaster Preparedness Program and National Estuarine Research Reserves Team Up for Tabletop Exercise
DEC. 20, 2021 — On Dec. 8-9, staff from the Office of Response and Restoration Disaster Preparedness Program and the Great Bay (New Hampshire) and Wells (Maine) National Estuarine Research Reserves walked through a tabletop exercise designed to test the Research Reserves’ Disaster Response Plans.
Marine Debris Program Hosts Informational Webinar for Invited Applicants to FY22 Removal Competition
DEC. 20, 2021 — On Dec. 6, the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) hosted an information-sharing webinar for grant applicants.
DEC. 20, 2021 — Last month, Peter Murphy, Alaska Regional Coordinator for the NOAA Marine Debris Program, participated in a session focused on the issue of marine debris as part of the Alaska Tribal Conference on Environmental Management (ATCEM).
DECEMBER 13, 2021 — OR&R staff are participating in a training to improve their training and instruction skills. While the training team spends a great deal of time educating others, very rarely do they have the opportunity to be the students themselves.
DECEMBER 13, 2021 ─ On December 1, 2021, the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) released a report on the United States’ contributions to global ocean plastic waste.
DECEMBER 13, 2021 ─ December 3, 2021 -- As part of efforts under the Southeast Marine Debris Action Plan, the Wildlife and Habitat Impacts Working Group developed a new tool, Tangled in Trash: A Reporting Tool For Wildlife, with funding from the NOAA Marine Debris Program and National Marine Sanctuary Foundation.
DECEMBER 13, 2021 ─ On December 8, the Marine Debris Program (MDP) released the 2021 Hawai‘i Marine Debris Action Plan. This document is the result of a collaborative effort between the MDP and partners across Hawai‘i, including federal, state, and local governments, nongovernmental organizations, industry, and academia.
NOVEMBER 13, 2021 ─ The 2022 virtual Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference is the latest in a long history of regional gatherings about the inland seas of Washington and southern British Columbia, collectively known as the Salish Sea.
DECEMBER 13, 2021 — On November 17, NOAA’s Marine Debris Program (MDP) hosted a virtual Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Marine Debris Emergency Response workshop. The CNMI experiences a high number of storms and is located in an area referred to as “Typhoon Alley,” making it especially important for the region to be prepared.
DECEMBER 6, 2021 — OR&R’s Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) program released a new set of ESI data and maps for two critical links in the Great Lakes region. Work was completed in July 2021 to refresh outdated ESI mapping data for the St. Marys and St.
DECEMBER 6, 2021 — Several OR&R staff members participated in the 2021 Annual Meeting of the Pacific States-British Columbia Oil Spill Task Force, held virtually on November 17. Composed of representatives from the key spill response agencies in Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska, as well as the Canadian province of British Columbia, the Oil Spill Task Force collects and shares data on oil spills, coordinates oil spill prevention projects, and promotes regulatory safeguards.
DECEMBER 6, 2021 ─ On Nov. 15 and 16 the Marine Debris Program (MDP) hosted a two-part seminar titled, "Working with Restaurants to Reduce Plastic: A NOAA Seminar on Challenges & Successes." The seminar featured presentations and a panel discussion with current and past Marine Debris Program grantees who shared their challenges and lessons learned around how to approach restaurants, how to work with them on plastic reduction, and how to maintain long-term relationships and momentum with the restaurant industry.
November 2021
NOVEMBER 22, 2021 ─ So, what is marine snow? Can we even see it? Possibly, but in reality, marine snow are extremely small particles that float slowly from the surface of a body of water to the floor, found both in bodies of fresh and salt water. On November 18, Dr. Uta Passow, an expert on this subject, presented on this as part of the OR&R You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know Lecture Series.
NOVEMBER 22, 2021 -─ On November 10, NOAA’s Marine Debris Program (MDP) coordinated and presented at the virtual bi-annual California Ocean Litter Strategy (CA OLS) webinar. The webinar brought together over 45 partners across the state and included a diverse set of sectors including state agencies, nonprofits, private sector, and academia.
NOVEMBER 22, 2021 — OR&R biologist Nicolle Rutherford was among the authors of a paper recently accepted for publication: “Meta-analysis of salt marsh vegetation impacts and recovery: a synthesis following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.”
NOVEMBER 15, 2021 ─ On November 3, a team of NOAA scientists from the Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R), and NOAA Fisheries participated in an industry-led oil spill exercise. The scenario for the exercise, a deep-water well loss of control with a discharge significantly larger than that of Deepwater Horizon, provided an opportunity for the OR&R team to consider the processes associated with and potential environmental effects of using subsea dispersant injection (SSDI) as a response method.
NOVEMBER 15, 2021 ─ On November 10, OR&R representatives presented on the potential threats of oil pollution and marine debris during the Rice's Whale Recovery Plan Workshop. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) is developing a recovery plan for Rice's whale (Balaenoptera ricei) listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 2019.
NOVEMBER 15, 2021 — In September of this year, the Washington State Department of Ecology hosted a workshop, Marine Mammal Management in Oil Spill Response, and we wrote about the presentations given by two recently retired scientists from OR&R’s Emergency Response Division, Gary Shigenaka and Dr. Alan Mearns.
NOVEMBER 15, 2021 ─ On November 9, led by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of the Interior, 15 federal agencies and non-governmental partners commemorated a decade of accomplishments under the Urban Waters Federal Partnership while pledging their recommitment to this partnership. Twenty partnership locations across the country are advancing economic, public health, environmental, and social benefits by enhancing community connections to water.
NOVEMBER 15, 2021 ─ Recently, the NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator for Alaska had the opportunity to accompany U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) members to an uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) equipment demonstration. Attendees included personnel from USCG Sector Anchorage, Marine Safety Unit Valdez, University of Alaska-Fairbanks International Arctic Research Center, and Alaska Department of Transportation.
NOVEMBER 15, 2021 ─ On November 8 and 9, the OR&R Director Scott Lundgren, Marine Debris Program Pacific Northwest Regional Coordinator Andrew Mason, Marine Debris Monitoring Coordinator Hillary Burgess, and California Sea Grant Extension Fellow Tanya Torres presented at the virtual 2021 Oregon Marine Debris Action Plan (ORMDAP) update workshop. A prerecorded address to the marine debris community was also provided by Oregon's 1st District Representative Suzanne Bonomici.
NOVEMBER 15, 2021 ─ The Seventh International Marine Debris Conference (7IMDC) will be held September 18-23, 2022, in Busan, South Korea. The Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) will be official co-hosts for this event, with NOAA’s Marine Debris Program providing in-kind support in planning and executing the conference.
NOVEMBER 8, 2021 ─ Our new interactive Story Map puts real data from the Refugio Beach oil spill at your fingertips.
NOVEMBER 8, 2021 ─ On Nov. 2, the Office of Science and Technology Policy’s Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology hosted a panel discussion on Environmental Justice (EJ). The discussion provided an excellent introduction to the topic of environmental justice and OR&R staff who joined improved their understanding of the importance of the role our own work can play in perpetuating environmental injustices.
NOVEMBER 8, 2021 ─ On November 2, Marine Debris Program (MDP) team member Shanelle Naone provided information on marine debris messaging and communications to students participating in an MDP-funded grant program.
NOVEMBER 8, 2021 ─ On November 1, 2021, the 84-foot fishing vessel Laura ran aground and capsized at Sitkalidak Island, near Kodiak, Alaska. The four-person crew abandoned ship and made it safely ashore and were rescued by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter. But one member of the crew, Grace, the vessel’s puppy, was washed overboard and presumed lost.
October 2021
NOVEMBER 1, 2021 ─ As the temperatures start to cool and snow starts to fall, the Great Lakes region begins to warm up to the idea of winter recreational activities. Ice fishing, racing snow mobiles, enjoying the city view from half a mile offshore on a thick slab of ice are all examples of outdoor enjoyments local residents look forward to after the new year.
NOVEMBER 1, 2021 ─ What is marine snow? It is definitely not something strap on your boots and board to go ski, it is a little deeper than that, actually way deeper. In fact, look to the oceans, marine snow is mostly an organic matter that is falling from higher layers of the water column to lower layers and eventually settling on the sea floors.
NOVEMBER 1, 2021 ─ Every year on the third Thursday in October, participants around the world practice earthquake safety during The Great Shakeout. On October 21st, OR&R’s Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) held two offerings of a virtual earthquake drill to take part in this event along with more than 15.9 million global participants.
NOVEMBER 1, 2021 ─ NOAA scientists from OR&R’s Office of Response and the Fisheries Restoration Center are in Southern California working with our state and federal co-trustees to initiate a Natural Resource Damage Assessment for the Huntington Beach oil spill (Pipeline P00547) that occurred in early October 2021.
NOVEMBER 1, 2021 ─ On October 27, Katie Morgan joined the NOAA Marine Debris Program MDP) as the new Regional Coordinator for the Mid-Atlantic. As Regional Coordinator, Katie will represent the MDP in the region, and work with agencies, NGO, industry, and academia on a variety of projects and initiatives to identify, research, prevent, assess, and remove marine debris.
OCTOBER 25, 2021 ─ On October 8, 2021 NOAA and our co-trustee partners released a Natural Resource Damage Assessment Plan to guide assessment activities related to releases of oil and other contaminants at the ITC Tank Fire site in Deer Park, Texas.
OCTOBER 25, 2021 ─ Wind Farms. Why do we not see more of them on our coastlines? There is an obvious push to go green, use sustainable technologies for power, and for good reason but at what cost?
OCTOBER 25, 2021 ─ On October 21, the Marine Debris Program released the Hawai‘i Marine Debris Action Plan 2010-2020 Accomplishments Report. The Hawai‘i Marine Debris Action Plan was the first community-based marine debris action plan in the nation.
OCTOBER 25, 2021 ─ On October 18, the NOAA Marine Debris Program announced the opening of its annual art contest. Students in grades K-8 from the United States and U.S. territories can submit their artwork now through December 10.
OCTOBER 25, 2021 ─ This past June thru September, the OR&R Emergency Response Division supported the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations fleet by approving the augmentation request for LCDR Faith Knighton to sail 76-days as a Senior Watch Officer and Acting Commanding Officer aboard the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer.
OCTOBER 25, 2021 ─ On October 13, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Education Specialist, Alexandria Brake, led a workshop at the North American Association of Environmental Education’s 2021 Virtual Conference titled “Litter Lessons: Project-Based Marine Debris Education Using Citizen Science.”
OCTOBER 18, 2021 ─ The Marine Debris Program (MDP) is pleased to announce that Pacific Coastal Research & Planning (PCRP), a Saipan-based environmental non-profit organization, successfully completed a project funded by the MDP and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to remove the derelict fishing vessel Lady Carolina from the central Saipan Lagoon.
OCTOBER 18, 2021 ─ On October 14, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Marine Debris Program released the New Jersey Marine Debris Emergency Response Guide: Comprehensive Guidance Document (Guide). The Guide is a product of a collaborative process with state and federal agencies.
OCTOBER 18, 2021 — OR&R staff followed up September’s trio of Congressional briefings on the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) program with another set of three briefings between October 12 and 15. These all-interested briefings were an opportunity for Congressional staff to learn about ESI maps and data along with their current status in different regions of the country.
OCTOBER 18, 2021 ─ OR&R’s Assessment and Restoration Division (ARD) and the University of New Hampshire’s Coastal Response Research Center hosted a three-day workshop to improve preparedness for West coast oil spills involving novel oils transported into the region. The workshop delved into a range of emerging oils including bakken, dilbit, biofuels, low sulfur fuel oils, and others.
OCTOBER 11, 2021 ─ We had a shared idea to create an oceanographic/meteorological buoy system that could be deployed by a relatively small vessel to support scientific research and emergency response. We thought, “There could be so many uses in support of NOAA and NOS missions if we only had such a buoy.” If a critical fixed monitoring station was damaged during a major hurricane and there was a need for real-time data, the buoy could be deployed as a temporary monitoring device.
OCTOBER 11, 2021 ─ On October 2, 2021, U.S. Coast Guard contacted NOAA regarding an unknown sheen in the water. Roughly 45 minutes later, NOAA captured satellite imagery, which became the basis for a NOAA Satellites Marine Pollution Surveillance Report, issued the same day, showing oil slicks extending for more than 30 miles along the coast. U.S. Coast Guard field teams investigating the information observed black oil roughly 3.25 nautical miles offshore and requested NOAA support in mapping the trajectory of the oil.
OCTOBER 11, 2021 ─ On October 6, the Marine Debris Program (MDP) released the 2021 Washington Marine Debris Action Plan. This document is the result of a collaborative effort between the MDP and partners across Washington State, including federal and state governments, tribes, nongovernmental organizations, industry, and academia.
OCTOBER 11, 2021 ─ The Pacific States/British Columbia Oil Spill Task Force recently announced winners of its Legacy Awards and we are excited to announce that OR&R scientist emeritus Gary Shigenaka was selected for a 2021 Legacy Award in the individual category.
OCTOBER 11, 2021 ─ OR&R’s Simeon Hahn presented with EPA (Chris Orvin), the New Department of Environmental Protection Frank McLaughline), the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary (Kathy Kline and Erica Rosetti), and a community organizer, Collaborate Northeast of Wilmington, Delaware (Bobbi Britton), on the Urban Water Federal Partnership (UWFP) at the 9th Annual Del-AWARE River Watershed Forum organized by the Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed.
OCTOBER 11, 2021 ─ ‘A‘ohe hana nui ke alu ‘ia: No task is too big when done together by all. On September 22, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) celebrated the completion of a 30-day mission to remove marine debris from the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. The mission removed nearly 124,000 pounds of debris and entanglement hazards from the monument’s waters and shorelines.
OCTOBER 4, 2021 ─ The month of September has been a busy one for the ERMA application.
OCTOBER 4, 2021 ─ On September 23, 2021, Great Lakes Scientific Support Coordinator Lieutenant Rachel Pryor participated in a multi-agency effort to train Salamanca fire department and first responders for pollution response and spill equipment deployment in the Allegheny River.
OCTOBER 4, 2021 ─ A collaboration between NOAA OR&R’s Emergency Response Division, the Office of Atmospheric Research, and the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations has resulted in two new job aids for oil spill and hurricane response—the Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Oil Spill Response Job and the Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Hurricane Response Job Aid.
OCTOBER 4, 2021 ─ New England Scientific Support Coordinator William Whitmore traveled to Belfast, Maine on September 21-22 to assist U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Sector Northern New England with an oil spill drill that was part of the USCG National Preparedness for Response Program (PREP) and a mission-critical NOAA assignment.
OCTOBER 4, 2021 ─ The Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC) at University of New Hampshire (UNH) successfully responded to a Broad Agency Announcement to continue its work with the science of all-hazard incidents and oil spills.
OCTOBER 4, 2021 ─ NOAA and other Lower Duwamish Trustees conducted site visits at two restoration projects in the construction phase along the Lower Duwamish River. Trustees finalized a Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) settlement in May 2021 with Vigor Industrial and Exxon Mobil.
September 2021
A new publication entitled "A review of the toxicology of oil in vertebrates: what we have learned following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill" is now available in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B. The open access article can be found for FREE online.
SEPTEMBER 27, 2021 ─ On September 15, 2021, Andrew Mason, Pacific Northwest Regional Coordinator of the Marine Debris Program (MDP) presented on marine debris and plastics as part of the Port Townsend Marine Science Center’s virtual educational series in partnership with the Jefferson County Marine Resources Committee.
SEPTEMBER 27, 2021 — NOAA has awarded a contract to Research Planning, Inc. (RPI) to refresh the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps and data for Lake Erie. The work is expected to commence during the first quarter of FY22 and be completed by the end of the fiscal year.
SEPTEMBER 27, 2021 ─ On October 21, OR&R’s Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) will lead two opportunities to practice earthquake safety during The Great Shakeout! Registration is now open for participants to join at either 11:00 a.m. ET/8:00 a.m. PT OR 4:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. PT.
SEPT. 13, 2021 — NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) is excited to announce that Aaron Parker was recently selected as chief of OR&R’s Emergency Response Division — the group within OR&R that provides scientific support for preparedness and response to spills and other coastal emergencies. Aaron took the helm of the division on Aug. 30, 2021.
SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 ─ On September 7, the Marine Debris Program’s (MDP) Monitoring Coordinator Hillary Burgess presented on the Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project to the volunteer coordinators of National Marine Sanctuaries.
SEPTEMBER 20 ─ This week NOAA’s RESTORE Science Program awarded $2.3 M in funding to 20 project teams to plan for actionable science in the Gulf of Mexico. As one of the project's co-investigators, ARD’s Dr. Michel Gielazyn is helping to lead and examine the cumulative impacts of pollution on dolphins near Houston, Texas.
SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 ─ This week OR&R’s Dr. Michel Gielazyn of the Assessment and Restoration Division was part of a multidisciplinary team selected to receive the EPA’s “Superfund Advancing Innovations and Sustainability in Cleanup Practice” Award for her work at the Kerr-McGee Navassa site in North Carolina.
SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 ─ After much planning, preparation, and even a postponement due to Hurricane Ida, the Office of Response and Restoration held a pilot virtual Southeast Resource Advisor Training. So what is a Resource Advisor anyhow?
SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 ─ A U.S. Coast Guard-led planning team which included Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator, and University of Alaska Arctic Research Institute, that traveled to Kodiak to evaluate oil spill response Geographic Response Strategies or GRS.
SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 ─ On September 9, Marine Debris Program staff provided a presentation on marine debris impacts to coastal and marine economies during a training for government representatives of Southeast Asian nations.
SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 ─ On September 13, the NOAA Marine Debris Program announced the FY 2022 notice of funding opportunity for Marine Debris Prevention projects. NOAA will fund prevention projects that actively engage and educate a target audience (such as students, teachers, industries, etc.) in hands-on programs designed to raise awareness, reduce barriers to marine debris prevention, and encourage and support changes in behaviors to ensure long-term prevention of marine debris.
SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 ─ On September 9, Marine Debris Program staff provided a presentation on marine debris impacts to coastal and marine economies during a training for government representatives of Southeast Asian nations.
SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 — OR&R staff held three briefings for all interested Congressional staff to introduce them to Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps and data, and explain their current status in different regions of the country. The presentations were led by Scott Lundgren, Director of NOAA OR&R, and Nicolle Rutherford, ESI Program Manager.
SEPTEMBER 20. 2021 ─ On September 8, 2021, two recently retired scientists from OR&R’s Emergency Response Division gave invited virtual presentations at a workshop, Marine Mammal Management in Oil Spill Response, hosted by the Washington State Department of Ecology.
SEPT. 13, 2021 — On Sept. 29, the Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee (IMDCC) will hold a virtual public meeting. This meeting will include presentations on the Fiscal Year 2021 achievements and Fiscal Year 2022 planned activities of the participating agencies.
SEPT. 13, 2021 — This week the Assessment and Restoration Division’s Dr. Bryand Duke was published as part of a team of scientists in the Journal of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. Their research examined the impacts of Monterey crude oil during the 2015 Refugio Beach spill (Santa Barbara County, California).
SEPT. 13, 2021 — On Sept. 1, 2021 the Department of Justice announced that a consent decree valued at $2.1 million was finalized to restore natural resources damaged during the Bayport Channel oil spill.
SEPT. 13, 2021 — OR&R's NOAA scientific support coordinator for Alaska participated in the 43rd Joint Planning Group Meeting and Exercise held under the Joint Contingency Plan of the Russian Federation and the United States of America in Combating Pollution on the Bering Sea and Chukchi Seas (Joint Contingency Plan or ‘JCP’).
SEPT. 13, 2021 — On Sept. 7, the Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) welcomed six new undergraduate interns from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES): Tnaisha Addison, Abisola Ajayi, Sophia Anokam, Sumayyah Cravens, Semaj Fielding, and Jasmine Thompson.
SEPT. 13, 2021 — On Sept. 9, the NOAA Marine Debris Program announced the 25 recipients of our 2021 Removal, Research, and North America Marine Debris Prevention and Removal Grant awards totaling approximately $7.3 million in federal funds.
SEPT. 13, 2021 — On Sept. 1, the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) wrapped-up a month of partner-led virtual workgroup meetings to discuss the California Ocean Litter Strategy. The meetings brought together over 75 partners across the state and included a diverse set of sectors including state agencies, nonprofits, private sector, and academia.
August 2021
AUGUST 30, 2021 ─ On August 10 and 11, representatives from several NOAA Line Offices met to discuss agency roles, responsibilities, and opportunities for enhancing coordination and support delivery in disaster recovery. The workshop was developed by the Disaster Preparedness Program and facilitated by the University of New Hampshire’s Coastal Resources Research Center.
AUGUST 30, 2021 ─ On August 18, Marine Debris Division staff provided a presentation on the Division’s work and the United States Government’s approach to addressing marine debris to a group of officials from twelve countries.
On August 24, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with support from the non-profit Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project (PMDP), launched a 30-day mission to remove marine debris from the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.
AUGUST 30, 2021 ─ Prior to Tropical Storm/Hurricane Henri making landfall on August 22, 2021, FEMA gave a mission assignment to William Whitmore, the Disaster Preparedness Program’s Regional Preparedness Coordinator based out of Gloucester, Massachsetts.
AUGUST 30, 2021 ─ Forty-five years ago, on December 15, 1976, the tanker Argo Merchant ran aground near Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. The ship later broke up, spilling 7.6 million gallons of #6 Fuel Oil.
AUGUST 30, 2021 — On August 17 - 18, a number of OR&R staff participated in the CLEAN PACIFIC 2021 conference, held both virtually and in-person in Renton, Washington.
AUGUST 23, 2021 ─ The eleventh annual Environmental Data Management Workshop organized by NOAA took place the week of the August 16. The virtual meeting covered topics that included all facets of data management from collection through archiving.
AUGUST 23, 2021 ─ On August 16-17, Marine Debris Division (MDD) staff served on the U.S. delegation to the Seventeenth Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Oceans and Fisheries Working Group (OFWG) meeting.
AUGUST 23, 2021 ─ On August 19, NOAA Marine Debris Division (MDD) partner, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), announced eight grants totaling $412,000 through the Fishing for Energy partnership to support activities in California, Connecticut, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Oregon to reduce the amount of derelict fishing gear in the marine environment.
AUGUST 23, 2021 ─ The solicitation of nominations for the Marine Debris Foundation Board of Directors has been reopened. The Save Our Seas 2.0 Act of 2020 established the Marine Debris Foundation (Foundation) as a charitable and nonprofit organization to support the efforts of NOAA and other entities to address marine debris and directed the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere to appoint the Foundation’s
AUGUST 23, 2021 ─ On August 11 and 18, the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP), in partnership with the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, supported two half-day training sessions on applying for grants for the Mid-Atlantic Marine Debris Action Plan community and regional stakeholders.
Great Lakes Scientific Support Coordinator Participates in U.S./Canada Equipment Deployment Exercise
AUGUST 23, 2021 ─ On August 18, United States Coast Guard Sector Detroit executed a field operation to validate existing booming plans in the St. Clair River. This evolution is to meet objectives outlined in the Preparedness for Response Exercise Program (PREP) scenario in which a fictitious tanker vessel collides with hard bottom and releases 5,000 barrels of fuel oil into the St. Clair River.
AUGUST 16, 2021 ─ On August 5, 2021, Sarah Latshaw, Southeast Regional Coordinator for the NOAA Marine Debris Program, was a guest presenter during the Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council (Council) meeting.
AUGUST 16, 2021 ─ OR&R's Emergency Response Division is supporting the USCG response for the 138’ F/V St. Patrick, a scallop boat that sank in Kodiak in 1989 but recently began leaking oil. The response and investigation is ongoing and at this point, it’s unknown how much fuel has leaked or is left on board.
AUGUST 16, 2021 ─ The week of August 9, OR&R held our third week long virtual Science of Chemical Releases (SOCR) Class during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Classes were held live on-line with 40 students from multiple federal and state agencies and a few non-profit response consortiums attending from across the U.S. from Hawaii to Virginia and international participants from Canada, Panama, and England.
AUGUST 16, 2021 ─ On Saturday, August 7, the Marine Debris Program’s Education Specialist, Alexandria Brake, led a workshop at the Coastal Ecosystem Learning Center (CELC) Network Virtual Youth Summit. The CELC Network is a consortium of 25 aquariums and marine science education centers located in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, which is coordinated by NOAA’s Office of Education.
AUGUST 16, 2021 ─ Contaminant loads in the fish will be evaluated through chemical analysis and their otoliths will be examined to quantify recent growth rates. Beach seines using a NOAA research vessel and pulled to shore by hand to sort through each catch.
AUGUST 9, 2021 ─ The Diversity and Professional Advancement Working Group (DPAWG), on which the Reyhan Mehran of OR&R’s Assessment and Restoration Division serves as a member of the executive committee, has been selected as the recipient of NOAA’s competitive Diversity Impact Award.
AUGUST 9, 2021 ─ On July 26, the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) launched a new webpage to share marine debris educational resources, organized for easy access by four key audiences: Educators, Students, Kids and Families, and Adults and Professionals.
AUGUST 9, 2021 ─ On July 29, 2021, federal co-trustees, NOAA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released the Final Early Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment that calls for building a 5-acre park along the Lower Passaic River in East Newark, New Jersey.
AUGUST 9, 2021 ─ On August 2, the NOAA Marine Debris Program announced the FY 2022 notice of funding opportunity for Marine Debris Removal projects. NOAA will fund removal projects that create long-term, quantifiable ecological habitat improvements to NOAA trust resources.
AUGUST 9, 2021 ─ On August 5, 2021, OR&R Director Scott Lundgren represented NOAA alongside other senior agency representatives from the 15 Departments and Agencies participating in the Urban Waters Federal Partnership (external pdf factsheet). Senior leaders from the Department of the Interior and EPA convened this meeting to build relationships and connections, provide leadership-level support for the partnership, and discuss future actions for the program as
AUGUST 2, 2021 ─ OR&R is pleased to have Mr. Felix Lopez an ecologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Caribbean Field Office. Felix is here to talk about the Section 7 Consultations of the Endangered Species Act. This section is to ensure Federal Agencies do not harm or jeopardize any endangered species when they perform or fund cleanup/response efforts in the wake of spills or natural disasters.
AUGUST 2, 2021 ─ After much hard work, determination and dedication, OR&R’s Disaster Preparedness Program along with support from Genwest, completed its first ever Virtual NOAA Intermediate Incident Command System for expanding incidents (ICS 300) course on July19-22. We had 12 excellent students participating from across NOAA including three NOAA line offices (NOS, OAR, OMAO) and the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer (OCAO).
AUGUST 2, 2021 ─ Subpart J of the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP) directs EPA to prepare a schedule of dispersants, other chemicals, and oil spill mitigating devices and substances that may be used to remove or control oil discharges.
AUGUST 2, 2021 ─ On July 17, the Marine Debris Program (MDP) Director Nancy Wallace, Mid-Atlantic Regional Coordinator Christy Kehoe, and Marine Debris Monitoring Coordinator Hillary Burgess presented at a virtual 2021 Mid-Atlantic Marine Debris Summit. The three-day Summit brought together over 475 attendees from Mid-Atlantic regional entities working on marine debris, including state and federal agencies, tribes, non-profit organizations, academia, and other groups.
AUGUST 2, 2021 ─ On July 22, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) received notification of crude oil seeping into sensitive marsh habitat from a large storage tank struck by a bullet in Bayou Hermitage, Louisiana. USCG ventured onsite to discover not just the leaking oil storage tank, but several additional tanks, barges and abandoned containers left to the mercy of Mother Nature.
July 2021
JULY 26, 2021 ─ During June and July 2021, the joint OR&R and University of New Hampshire Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC) and UNH School of Marine Science and Ocean Engineering hosted undergraduate interns from the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez and a student from Mauritius studying at Gustavo Adolphus College to work on a variety of research projects, several conducted by the center for OR&R. The research topics include oil thickness, marine oil snow, oil and ice modeling, and microplastics research.
JULY 26, 2021 ─ On July 17, the Marine Debris Program Education Specialist Alexandria Brake and Mid-Atlantic Regional Coordinator Christy Kehoe presented at a virtual Virginia Association for Environmental Education (VAEE) Mini-Conference Series: Summer on the Shore.
JULY 26, 2021 ─ On May 11, 2016, on Green Canyon Block 248, 97 miles off the coast of Louisiana, a crude oil spill from a well-head flow line resulted in the discharge of 80,892 gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
JULY 26, 2021 ─ On July 19, the Department of Justice announced filing for public comment of a consent decree proposing a $2.1 million settlement value to restore for natural resource damages for the Bayport Channel oil spill in Texas.
JULY 19, 2021 ─ Imagine you are sitting on the beautiful white sand beach in Waikiki on the Island of Oahu. The sun is out, the water is warm, you have a drink in your hand, you see the tide start to move out and swells start to settle, and then…
JULY 19, 2021 ─ The week of July 12, a team of NOAA scientists and partners published a new study about juvenile Chinook salmon in the Lower Willamette River as part of our work on the Portland Harbor Superfund Site. This research shines light on the impacts of pollution on young salmon outmigrating through the Lower Willamette River enroute to the ocean from the tributaries where they were spawned.
JULY 19, 2021 ─ On July 13, the Marine Debris Program (MDP) Mid-Atlantic Regional Coordinator Christy Kehoe presented at a virtual Elizabeth River Project Habitat Quality meeting. The Elizabeth River Project is a non-profit based in Virginia with a mission to restore the Elizabeth River to the highest practical level of environmental quality through government, business, and community partnerships.
JULY 19, 2021 ─ Last week NOAA and partners concluded a comprehensive fish sampling effort to evaluate the relationship between contaminant concentrations and the growth of fish at the Portland Harbor Superfund site.
JULY 19, 2021 ─ On July 14, the Marine Debris Program Education Specialist, Alexandria Brake, and Northeast Regional Coordinator, Demi Fox, led a workshop at the National Marine Educators Association 2021 Virtual Conference.
JULY 19, 2021 ─ The week of July 12, OR&R led a Congressional briefing highlighting 30 years of NOAA’s Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program’s (DARRP) work restoring the environment after marine pollution. Attendees learned about how NOAA has recovered $10.5 B from polluters through settlements and heard from restoration partners how those funds are being leveraged to benefit ecosystems, communities, and economies across the country.
JULY 12, 2021 ─ On June 24, OR&R Director Scott Lundgren represented Department of Commerce/NOAA in an exercise of the Spill of National Significance (SONS) Strategic Coordination Call (SSCC) held at the Operations Deputy-level. He was joined by other program staff and NOAA and Department of Commerce operations centers.
NOAA, and the state and federal Trustees working on restoring habitat and resources impacted by the Refugio Beach oil spill near Santa Barbara, have released a Final Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment (PDF, 183 pages).
JULY 12, 2021 ─ Thirty-two years after the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, Alan Mearns (retired, scientist emeritus) reports that volunteers are resuming visits this summer to NOAA long term rocky intertidal monitoring sites in western Prince William Sound.
JULY 12, 2021 ─ On July 6, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s (MDP) Pacific Island Regional Coordinator, Mark Manuel, began mentoring Abigail Lewine, a 2021 Hollings Prep Program intern. The Hollings Prep Program is a pilot program that seeks to build a pool of diverse candidates (particularly those from underrepresented groups) for NOAA scholarship and fellowship programs.
JULY 12, 2021 ─ The Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) recently finalized its FY22-26 Strategic Plan. This is the second strategic plan for the DPP, which marks the three-year point for the program. The DPP has been growing in a slow, steady, and deliberative way. Additions to our portfolio over the last three years include recovery and regional support.
JULY 12, 2021 ─ 2021 marks 30 years of NOAA’s Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration (DARRP) program, a matrix program across National Marine Fishery Service’s Office of Habitat Conservation, NOAA General Counsel for Natural Resources, and OR&R’s Assessment and Restoration Division (ARD).
JULY 12, 2021 ─ The week of July 6, LT Rachel Pryor began planning for the Great Lakes Harmful Algal Bloom (HABs) workshop to be held in January 2023. LT Pryor is capitalizing on the momentum built from a successful HABs workshop based in the Gulf of Mexico that occurred this past April.
JULY 6, 2021 ─ On June 29, the journal Frontiers in Marine Science published an article co-authored by the Marine Debris Program. Entitled “Microplastics in Invasive Freshwater Mussels (Dreissena sp.): Spatiotemporal Variation and Occurrence With Chemical Contaminants,” the study measured microplastics and chemical contaminants in mussel tissue from Milwaukee Harbor harvested from reference locations and sites influenced by wastewater effluent and urban river discharge.
JULY 6, 2021 ─ On the afternoons of June 29 and 30, the Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) partnered with the Gulf of Mexico Regional Collaboration Team to hold a virtual tabletop exercise. Named “Coastal Chaos,” this exercise was designed to bring regional NOAA Gulf of Mexico entities together to improve coordination, communication, and collaboration.
JULY 6, 2021 ─ A new ArcGIS Story Map explores NOAA’s Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration (DARRP) Program’s work in each state and territory. This easy-to-use new tool breaks down the $10.5 billion DARRP has recovered from pollution settlements, what resources are benefiting from restoration projects, and where we’re actively working today.
June 2021
JUNE 28, 2021 ─ On June 24, the Marine Debris Program’s (MDP) Monitoring Coordinator Hillary Burgess was featured on the National Children’s Museum podcast STEAM Daydream.
JUNE 28, 2021 ─ The Pacific States/British Columbia Oil Spill Task Force—an organization comprised of representatives from state and provincial environmental agencies in the Pacific coastal area—collects and shares data on oil spills, coordinates oil spill prevention projects, and promote regulatory safeguards to improve prevention, preparation, and response to oil spills on a state and provincial level.
June 28, 2021 ─ On June 21 and 23, the OR&R Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) hosted its annual Hurricane Preparedness Summit. The two-day conference, which was facilitated by the University of New Hampshire’s Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC) covered a range of hurricane preparedness and response topics.
JUNE 21, 2021 ─ This week, Lisa DiPinto, OR&R’s senior scientist is working with the Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC), the EPA Office of Research and Development, and Johns Hopkins University to advance our ability to characterize surface oil slicks.
JUNE 21, 2021 ─ On June 16-17, Lieutenant Commander Faith Knighton, Scientific Support Coordinator (SSC) for the Pacific Northwest, participated in the Non-Floating Oil Spill Response Workshop.
JUNE 21, 2021 ─ For three days last week, June 15-17, 2021, OR&R staff, along with 80 other experts, participated in the National Academy of Science’s virtual “Offshore Situation Room.”
JUNE 14, 2021 ─ The Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (AERE) Summer Conference was held virtually between June 2 and 4 and attracted more than 600 registrants around the world. This year, OR&R’s Assessment and Restoration Division (ARD) sponsored a session on the use of new data sources, which attracted more than 80 participants. Cameron Duff presented ARD’s novel method for estimating lost recreation due to disasters like oil and chemical spills.
JUNE 14, 2021 ─ Emergencies can strike without warning, and unfortunately, we have too many real-life examples that remind us of the importance of being prepared. With this in mind, the Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) developed a readiness self-assessment tool explicitly designed to help the National Ocean Service (NOS) and NOS offices better prepare for emergencies and continuity events.
JUNE 14, 2021 ─ On June 3, Ashley Hill, the Marine Debris Program’s (MDP) Florida & Caribbean Regional Coordinator, and Hillary Burgess, the MDP’s Monitoring Coordinator, presented during the Keep Florida Beautiful (KFB) Annual Conference.
JUNE 14, 2021 ─ Scientists from OR&R’s Assessment and Restoration Division and NOAA Fisheries Protected Resources programs, in collaboration with our partners from the Coastal Response Research Center, led a virtual workshop to discuss ways to approach Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) for marine mammals in the Gulf of Mexico.
JUNE 14, 2021 ─ On June 9, 2021, the U.S Department of Justice entered two consent decrees valued at $9.3 million for settlement with companies, a local municipality, and a port district responsible for hazardous waste pollution in Western Port Angeles Harbor in Washington.
JUNE 7, 2021 — On May 20, Sarah Lowe, the Marine Debris Program's Great Lakes regional coordinator co-chaired a virtual marine debris session at the International Association of Great Lakes Research Conference.
JUNE 7, 2021 — From May 25-27, the Emergency Response Division of OR&R conducted Shoreline Cleanup and Assessment Technique (SCAT) team member training for the U.S. Coast Guard National Strike Force and Sector Mobile’s Incident Management Division through both virtual classroom instruction and in-person field training on Gulf Islands National Seashore Pensacola Beach, Florida.
May 2021
JUNE 1, 2021 — When disaster hits response teams are activated and begin working on a ground level. The teams use photos to prepare for the next day's activities. Having an aerial perspective helps identify areas hardest hit, locations of possible danger, and even to identify civilians stranded that need help.
JUNE 1, 2021 — Each year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) leads a nation-wide exercise designed to evaluate progress toward achieving an overall emergency preparedness culture.
JUNE 1, 2021 — During the week of May 23, 2021, OR&R scientists participated in 3 half-day meetings with the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MCTI), NOAA Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS), and the broader academic community in the U.S. and Brazil, on shared oil spill response and restoration goals.
MAY 24, 2021 — On May 11, the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP), along with the California Ocean Protection Council, co-hosted a California Ocean Litter Prevention Strategy update webinar.
MAY 24, 2021 — This month’s "You Don't Know What You Don't Know" lecture featured Mr. Jamie Rhome, team lead at NOAA’s National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, where he serves as a subject matter expert on storm surge and coastal inundation for the National Weather Service’s hurricane program.
MAY 24, 2021 — On May 20, the Marine Debris Program (MDP) released the 2021 Mid-Atlantic Marine Debris Action Plan. This document is the result of a productive and collaborative effort between the MDP and partners from local, state, and federal governments, nonprofits, industry, and academic institutions.
MAY 24, 2021 —NOAA Marine Debris Program is pleased to announce a solicitation of nominations for the Marine Debris Foundation Board of Directors. The Save Our Seas 2.0 Act of 2020 established the Marine Debris Foundation (Foundation) as a charitable and nonprofit organization to support the efforts of NOAA and other entities to address marine debris and directed the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere to appoint the Foundation’s governing Board of Directors (Board).
MAY 24, 2021 — On May 20, 2021 NOAA and our partners released a Draft Restoration and Environmental Assessment plan for the Gretna/DM 932 Mississippi RIver oil spill. The plan proposes projects to restore habitats impacted by the oil spill on the Mississippi River near downtown New Orleans.
MAY 17, 2021 — The first session on Empowering Women in Oil Spill Prevention, Preparedness, Response and Restoration at the International Oil Spill Conference resulted in a fully booked virtual room.
MAY 17, 2021 — On May 11, Doug Helton from ERD joined the USCG's monthly MER/IMD conference call/webinar and briefed the 100+ participants on the progress and current status of NOAA's Remediation of Underwater Legacy Environmental Threats (RULET) project.
MAY 17, 2021 — The United States District Court for the Western District of Washington finalized a settlement worth approximately $3.9 million with the City of Seattle to fund natural resource restoration in the Lower Duwamish River.
MAY 17, 2021 — Following Earth Month, the MDP's Great Lakes Regional Coordinator Sarah Lowe has been participating in some virtual outreach!
MAY 17, 2021 — On Thursday, May 6, NOAA Scientific Support and Regional Preparedness Coordinator William Whitmore discussed on-the-water oil identification to the Friends of Casco Bay, a volunteer organization that works to preserve and protect the environmental health of Casco Bay, Maine.
MAY 17, 2021 — The International Oil Spill Conference (IOSC), held this year on May 10 – 14, is a highly acclaimed event inviting a diverse coalition of emergency responders and scientists spanning international governments, industry, and academic experts across many countries to tackle many response challenges and share technological advances.
MAY 7, 2021 — On April 23, 202, a Consent Decree was lodged that includes $2.5 million to restore natural resources injured by releases of hazardous substances at the Oahu Sugar site at Pearl Harbor in Oahu, Hawaii.
MAY 7, 2021 — On April 23, NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) and Marine Debris Program (MDP) staff participated in the 2021 Earth Day Virtual Symposium of a specialized science, mathematics, engineering and technology (STEM) secondary school, Escuela Especializada en Ciencias, Matemática y Tecnología (CIMATEC), in Caguas, Puerto Rico.
MAY 7, 2021 — On April 27-29, NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration’s Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) and the University of New Hampshire’s Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC) co-hosted a virtual workshop and table top exercise on harmful algal bloom (HAB) preparedness and response capabilities and responsibilities across the federal government and state agencies.
MAY 7, 2021 — On April 22, the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) presented at a session of the Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council’s (ITRC) annual spring meeting focused on microplastics.
MAY 7, 2021 — On April 26 - 30, 2021 we held our Second Virtual Science of Chemical Releases (SOCR) Class. Classes were held live on-line with forty students attending from across the US and Canada, spanning geographically from Maine to St. Croix.
MAY 7, 2021 — On April 29, the Marine Debris Program (MDP) Planning and Preparedness Specialist Jessica Conway and Mid-Atlantic Regional Coordinator Christy Kehoe presented at a virtual Delaware Debris Summit.
May 3, 2021 ─ OR&R Director Scott Lundgren addressed the Spill Control Association of America (SCAA) Annual Meeting on April 28, 2021 as part of a virtual government panel.
May 3, 2021 ─ On April 22, the Marine Debris Program’s California Regional Coordinator Sherry Lippiatt and Monitoring Coordinator Hillary Burgess presented on NOAA’s Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project (MDMAP) as part of a California Trash Monitoring Webinar Series.
May 3, 2021 ─ On April 14, Nancy Wallace, Director of the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP), and Peter Murphy, Alaska Regional Coordinator, participated in a virtual roundtable event hosted by Senator Dan Sullivan (AK).
May 3, 2021 ─ On April 26-27, the NOAA Office of Response and Restoration’s Disaster Preparedness Program partnered with the University of Florida Center for Coastal Solutions, the National Science Foundation, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute to host the Shared Operational Research Logistics in the Nearshore Environment (SHORELINE 21) workshop.
May 3, 2021 ─ OR&R is pleased to introduce Jamie Rhome, the storm surge team lead at the National Hurricane Center.
May 3, 2021 ─ On April 21, Nancy Wallace, director of the NOAA Marine Debris Program, participated in a webinar, “Addressing and Managing Plastic Pollution,” hosted by the EPA Watershed Academy.
April 2021
April 26, 2021—On April 20, the Marine Debris Program Mid-Atlantic Regional Coordinator Christy Kehoe presented at a virtual Virginia Plastic Pollution Prevention Network meeting during Earth Week. The mission of the Virginia Plastic Pollution Prevention Network is to promote and facilitate coordination, collaboration, and communication among groups working to reduce plastic pollution throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.
April 26, 2021—In three separate one-on-one briefings, OR&R Director Scott Lundgren met with staff from the offices of Senators Susan Collins (ME), Lisa Murkowski (AK), and Chuck Schumer (NY) on April 15-16.
April 26, 2021—In March and April, the Emergency Response Division supported the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations Fleet by approving the augmentation request and sending LTJG Hayley Betker and LT Rachel Pryor to the NOAA Ship “Pisces” in the Gulf of Mexico. LTJG Betker reported for the first leg of the Southeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program survey out of Pascagoula, Mississippi and LT Pryor followed on the second leg.
April 26, 2021—On April 20, 2021, Lieutenant Commander Faith Knighton, scientific support coordinator for the Pacific Northwest, presented an Office of Response and Restoration and Emergency Response Division overview at the virtual 29th Annual Joint Safety and Environmental Professional Development Symposium hosted by the Naval Safety and Environmental Training Center.
April 26, 2021—This week, OR&R’s Senior Scientist Lisa DiPinto led a project funded by the U.S Coast Guard’s Research and Development Center entitled “Advancing Detection Capabilities for Monitoring Oil Spills in Ice Environments.”
April 26, 2021—In March and early April, OR&R’s Emergency Response Division provided Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Technique (SCAT) training in a hybrid (virtual and field) learning environment to spill responders in the San Francisco Bay area.
April 19, 2021 — As part of the Disaster Preparedness Program’s (DPP) commitment to continuously enhancing the value of program services to NOAA and partners across the country, DPP has embarked on an innovative research collaboration exploring strategies to quantify relationships between disaster preparedness activities and outcome metrics.
April 19, 2021 — On April 15 Lieutenant Commander Faith Knighton, Scientific Support Coordinator for the Pacific Northwest, presented an Office of Response and Restoration and Emergency Response Division overview at the virtual 2021 LEPC-Tribal Conference and Hazardous Materials Workshop hosted by the Washington State Emergency Response Commission.
April 19, 2021 — On April 12, NOAA and our natural resource co-Trustees released a Draft Supplemental Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment for the Kalamazoo River. The plan is open for public comment through May 14, 2021.
April 19, 2021 — On April 12-14 the Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response (EPPR) Working Group of the Arctic Council and the Arctic Coast Guard Forum (ACGF) held Arctic Guardian 2021, an international online emergency response exercise.
April 12, 2021 — Scientists from OR&R’s Assessment and Restoration Division and NOAA Fisheries, in collaboration with our partners from the Coastal Response Research Center, are leading a virtual workshop with NOAA marine mammal scientists from the Alaska Region, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Northwest Fisheries Science Center and other NOAA participants to discuss ways to approach Natural Resource Damage Assessment for marine mammals in sub-arctic Alaskan waters.
April 12, 2021 — NOAA continues to deepen engagement with the federal Recovery Support Function Leadership Group (RSFLG), advancing the stewardship component of the agency’s mission by aiding communities in disaster recovery.
April 12, 2021 — On March 30, Ashley Hill, the Marine Debris Program’s (MDP) Florida and Caribbean Regional Coordinator, presented about marine debris initiatives and citizen science opportunities during a three-part Marine Pollution Symposium.
April 12, 2021 — This week, Dr. Forrest Masters, Ph. D., P. E. will present as part of the “You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know” lecture series. Dr. Masters is a professor of civil and coastal engineering in the Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure & Environment at the University of Florida.
April 12, 2021 — Aquaculture, or the farming of aquatic animals like oysters, is becoming more and more popular in coastal areas. As the demand for seafood rises around the world, aquaculture provides a sustainable way to meet that demand.
April 5, 2021 — Scientists from OR&R have been working with collaborators from the Northwest Fisheries Science Center and other research groups to improve our understanding of how exposure to oil during early development causes injury in fish.
April 5, 2021 — On Friday, March 26, Director of OR&R, Scott Lundgren, had a one-on-one briefing with Senator Maria Cantwell’s (WA) office staff.
April 5, 2021 — On March 25-26, the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve (TRNERR) hosted a virtual workshop, Binational Management of Solid Waste and Flooding, with more than 130 participants representing the U.S. and Mexico.
April 5, 2021 — Environmental justice is the idea that all people, regardless of race, religion, national origin, or economic station, deserve fair treatment with regards to environmental laws and policy. The Urban Waters Federal Partnership works to restore and revitalize relationships between urban communities, particularly those that have been disproportionately impacted by pollution or economic distress, and local waterways.
March 2021
March 29, 2021 — On March 22, Lieutenant Rachel Pryor facilitated a meeting between OR&R’s Spatial Data Branch and the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 5 Superfund Program to discuss establishing an inter-agency digital highway to share data between the two agencys' mapping programs.
March 29, 2021 — Last week, during the You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know Lecture we took a deep dive into the history of Mallows Bay and the ghost ship fleet with Maryland’s State Underwater Archeologist, Dr. Susan Langley.
March 29, 2021 — From 1962 to 1985, Metal Bank of America Inc. owned and operated a salvage yard adjacent to the Delaware River. The facility recycled scrap metal and electrical transformers from various utility companies. The Environmental Protection Agency designated Metal Bank a Superfund site in 1983.
March 22, 2021 — On March 11, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s (MDP) Pacific Island Regional Coordinator Mark Manuel, participated as a panelist in the 2011 Japan Earthquake and its Tsunami: A 10-Year Remembrance Special Event for Internal NOAA staff in the Pacific Islands Region.
March 22, 2021 — As federal trustees for natural resources, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are initiating studies to assess natural resource injuries related to the release of hazardous substances from or near the Diamond Alkali Superfund site. The site, centered in Newark, New Jersey, includes the Lower Passaic River, Newark Bay, and other areas.
March 22, 2021 — Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Assessment and Restoration Division scientist Ken Finkelstein took part virtually in the National Ocean Science Bowl (NOSB) Northeastern Competition. The annual NOSB competition holds regional events for high school students and invites the winners to the national tournament during the spring.
March 22, 2021 — On March 8, Peter Murphy, the Alaska for the Marine Debris Program, presented as part of an expert panel on marine litter monitoring at the International Symposium on Plastics in the Arctic and Sub-Arctic.
March 15, 2021 — Starting on March 1, OR&R’s Emergency Response Division participated virtually in six National Advisory Meetings on the current state of knowledge on dispersants in Canadian waters. Dispersant use in Canada is currently very restricted. The review sessions focused on the potential ecological impacts and trade-offs associated with chemical dispersants.
March 15, 2021 — On March 2, Scott Lundgren, Director of the Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R), provided congratulatory remarks during the plenary kick-off of the 2021 Hawai‘i Marine Debris Action Plan workshop.
March 15, 2021 — California-based sustainable textiles consultancy, Materevolve, and the Marine Debris Program partnered to host an engaging workshop entitled “California Microfiber Workshop: Science, Innovation & Connection,” on Nov. 17, 2020.
March 15, 2021 — Each year, the Disaster Preparedness Program leads the National Ocean Service Incident Management Team through a review of the previous hurricane season with respect to our personnel, missions, and infrastructure. The process helps NOS learn from the previous year and plan for the next. These lessons learned are collected into an After Action Report and include a plan for improvement.
March 15, 2021 — Scientists from OR&R worked with partners to develop and field test the drifting exposure and effects assessment ring (DEEAR), an in situ bioassay system designed to assess the toxicity of oil spills to aquatic organisms. The DEEAR unit is a drifter drogue with a GPS float that has a bioassay system suspended inside it, where organisms contained in chambers are exposed to ambient water. The unit also contains an array of water quality sensors, a fluorometer, and polyethylene passive sampling devices to characterize the oil exposure.
March 8, 2021 — At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the NOAA Homeland Security Program Office (HSPO) stood up an After Action Reporting/Lessons Learned Unit led by Katie Krushinski and Charles Grisafi from the Office of Response and Restoration’s Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP).
March 8, 2021 — Effective March 1, William (Willie) Whitmore is the new Northeast Region Scientific Support Coordinator/Regional Preparedness Coordinator (SSC/RPC). Willie covers planning and response to spills from the Canadian border to New York, and supports USCG District One and USCG Sectors Northern New England, Boston, Southeast New England, Long Island, and New York.
March 8, 2021 — On February 23, the Marine Debris Program Mid-Atlantic Regional Coordinator Christy Kehoe participated in a workshop to update Virginia's Marine Debris Reduction Plan.
March 8, 2021 — The NOAA Office of Response and Restoration’s Disaster Preparedness Program has partnered with the University of Florida Center for Coastal Solutions, the National Science Foundation, and other partners to host the Shared Operational Research Logistics in the Nearshore Environment, SHORELINE 21 workshop on April 26-27 from 9am-5pm ET.
March 8, 2021 — On February 25, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), a partner of the NOAA Marine Debris Program, announced the 2021 Request for Proposals for the Fishing for Energy Partnership.
February 2021
March 1, 2021 — On February 17, the Marine Debris Program Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Regional Coordinators Demi Fox and Christy Kehoe participated in the first virtual workshop to create the Long Island Sound Marine Debris Action Plan (MDAP).
March 1, 2021 — From February 9-23, a virtual international spill response exercise was held to practice how Arctic Council nations would request and receive emergency international support. Support could include aircraft, vessels, response equipment, and personnel.
March 1, 2021 — On Monday, February 22, Scott Lundgren, Director of OR&R, had a one-on-one briefing with Washington D.C. and district staff from the office of Senator Jeanne Shaheen.
March 1, 2021 — On February 18 and 19, Marine Debris Program representative Andrew Mason (Pacific Northwest Regional Coordinator) attended a virtual workshop comprised of partners from across Oregon.
March 1, 2021 — On Feb. 22, at approximately 1:45 p.m., a tanker truck carrying approximately 6,500-gallons of used cooking oil crashed in the median of Route 17 in Essex County, Virginia.
March 1, 2021 — On February 24-25, Marine Debris Program (MDP) staff served on the U.S. delegation to the Sixteenth Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Oceans and Fisheries Working Group (OFWG) meeting, held virtually by the Government of New Zealand.
February 22, 2021 — With support from NOAA’S Southeast and Caribbean Regional Collaboration Team (SECART), The NOAA Office of Response and Restoration’s Disaster Preparedness Program and Marine Debris Program are co-hosting a North Carolina Aquaculture Gear Management and Storm Preparedness workshop.
February 22, 2021 — On the Feb. 18 episode of You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know, we dove into the life of a veterinarian for oiled wildlife. Dr. Michael Ziccardi of UC Davis discussed how far we have come in giving the oiled wildlife in a response a chance to survive.
February 22, 2021 — The Marine Debris Program (MDP) attended and presented at the bi-annual Arctic Council working group meetings on assembling an international action plan for marine litter in the Arctic. Peter Murphy, the MDP Alaska Coordinator, gave a presentation on proposed projects for initial action under the plan.
February 22, 2021 — OR&R staff co-authored a recent paper in the Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, Responder Needs Addressed by Arctic Maritime Oil Spill Modeling. This paper is part of a larger project, “Oil Spill Modeling for Improved Response to Arctic Maritime Spills” funded by the Department of Homeland Security’s Arctic Domain Awareness Center and facilitated by the University of New Hampshire’s Coastal Response Research Center.
February 22, 2021 — On February 18, Nancy Wallace and Hillary Burgess of the Marine Debris Program (MDP) presented to the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) ad hoc committee on the United States Contributions to Global Ocean Plastic Waste.
February 22, 2021 — NOAA and the Natural Resource Trustees for the Hudson River PCBs Superfund Site in New York have released a Remedial Injury Determination Report.
February 22, 2021 — Early on February 18, 2021, the USCG notified the NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator (SSC) for the region of a major vessel fire in the Hylebos Waterway in Tacoma, Washington. A fire had broken out shortly before midnight aboard the 233-foot Aleutian Falcon at Pier 25 in the Port of Tacoma.
February 15, 2021 — On February 1, the NOAA Marine Debris Program and the U.S. State Department secured project funding from the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) for a project that will be led by the Ocean Conservancy's Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI).
February 15, 2021 — In January, the Marine Debris Program welcomed two new members to the Communications Team.
February 15, 2021 — On February 10, the National Ocean Service (NOS) Incident Management Team (IMT) held its monthly meeting.
February 15, 2021 — On February 12, 2021, the Advisory Board for the Oil Spill Recovery Institute (OSRI) in Cordova, Alaska, held its winter meeting virtually. OR&R’s Doug Helton is the Federal Chair of OSRI which was established by Congress in response to the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.
February 8, 2021 — After the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, field teams collected tens of thousands of samples to analyze for oil constituents as part of a natural resource damage assessment. Care was exercised to avoid cross-contamination by cleaning equipment between samples.
February 8, 2021 — On February 3 members of OR&R's Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) and the Marine Debris Program's (MDP) Response Goal Team met to discuss marine debris issues in post-disaster long term recovery.
February 8, 2021 — The Marine Debris Program is excited to announce our new monthly webinar series, Salvaging Solutions to Abandoned and Derelict Vessels. Every fourth Wednesday of the month at 3:00 pm ET, the webinar will feature experts on a topic related to abandoned and derelict vessels (ADVs), to share perspectives and solutions from across the country on common ADV issues.
January 2021
February 1, 2021 — On January 28, Charles Grisafi, Southeast Regional Preparedness Coordinator, represented OR&R’s Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) as a guest speaker at a NOAA Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Team meeting.
February 1, 2021 — On January 28, 2021 The U.S. Department of Justice proposed a $48.4 million settlement to partially fund natural resource restoration in Superfund sites along Seattle’s Lower Duwamish River at the Harbor Island, Lower Duwamish, and Lockheed West hazardous waste sites.
February 1, 2021 — On January 20, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s (MDP) Pacific Island Regional Coordinator, Mark Manuel, provided a virtual presentation to the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo (UH-Hilo) Marine Debris in the Pacific senior-undergraduate course.
February 1, 2021 — On January 15th, the Scripps-Rady Ocean Plastic Pollution Challenge kicked off its 6-month accelerator program focused on identifying effective, evidence-based approaches to curb the flow of plastic into the California Coast.
February 1, 2021 — An upcoming virtual international response exercise will help improve U.S. and international preparedness for major spills in the Arctic.
JANUARY 25, 2021 — On January 6 and 13, NOAA’s Marine Debris Program hosted a virtual two-part New Jersey Marine Debris Emergency Response Planning workshop as part of an ongoing project to help improve the preparedness of coastal states in their response to and recovery from acute marine debris incidents.
JANUARY 25, 2021 — It was a blustery, overcast morning on August 28, 2017 when Adam Davis, then a young Scientific Support Coordinator, showed up on scene in Port Arthur, Texas. Wide-eyed and excited Adam could not wait to get started assisting the Marine Safety Unit, that was until he saw the flooding. Freeways and city streets completely submerged underwater.
JANUARY 25, 2021 — On January 16, the Marine Pollution Bulletin published a Viewpoint article written by the Marine Debris Program.
JANUARY 25, 2021 — Over the past 2 weeks, the Arctic Council's Emergency Prevention Preparedness and Response (EPPR) Working Group held its winter meeting online. EPPR includes expert working groups on oil pollution, search and rescue, radiation emergencies, and wildfires. Normally the members meet in person, but due to the health emergency restrictions and circumpolar time zones, the meetings were held remotely for a few hours each day.
JANUARY 19, 2021 — As with most coastal states, abandoned and derelict vessels (ADV) has become a major problem in our waterways. In most cases, these ADVs, are commonly abandoned, often in disrepair and without ownership.
JANUARY 19, 2021 — On January 8, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s (MDP) Mid-Atlantic Regional Coordinator, Christy Kehoe, provided a virtual presentation and Q+A session more than 150 fifth grade students and staff from Spring Hill Elementary School in Virginia.
JANUARY 19, 2021 — On January 13, OR&R’s Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) hosted the first National Ocean Service (NOS) Incident Management Team (IMT) meeting of 2021.
JANUARY 19, 2021 — Per a Federal Register Notice on January 14, 2021, the Department of Justice announced that a consent decree was lodged in the hazardous waste case of DuPont Beaumont in Jefferson County, Texas.
JANUARY 11, 2021 — On January 6, the OR&R director, Scott Lundgren, along with staff from OR&R headquarters, Marine Debris Program, Emergency Response Division, and the Coastal Response Research Center provided a briefing for the new director of the National Weather Service Ocean Prediction Center as well as senior and interested staff from the Center.
JANUARY 11, 2021 — A recent Feature Story on the NOAA Fisheries website focused on the use of the DIVER application to support clean-up and habitat restoration in the St. Louis River in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
JANUARY 11, 2021 — A study led by OR&R’s Assessment and Restoration Division's Ken Finkelstein and NOAA’s National Center for Coastal Ocean Sciences Ed Wirth, titled “Acute PCB Benthic Invertebrate Toxicity Testing to Support the 2017 Chronic Dose-Response Sediment Injury Model” has been published online in the Journal of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.
JANUARY 4, 2021 — On December 16, the Marine Debris Program’s Monitoring Coordinator, Hillary Burgess, presented on the Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project to participants of the United Nations Environment Programme Workshop: Understanding the Contributions of Citizen Science to Plastic Pollution Monitoring through the SDG Framework.
December 2020
DECEMBER 21, 2020 — On November 30, The University of New Hampshire (UNH) Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC) working with OR&R's Disaster Preparedness Program and Assessment and Restoration Division economists released a request for proposals for technical support to enhance our knowledge of economic valuing of preparedness, specifically in coastal disasters.
DECEMBER 21, 2020 — The OR&R Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) is excited to announce the recipients of the second annual Preparedness Lagniappe Awards. Funds were made available to National Ocean Service (NOS) program offices to fill preparedness gaps or innovate their current preparedness efforts.
DECEMBER 21, 2020 — In mid-December, the Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) CAMEO® team released CAMEO Data Manager, a desktop program for managing data about chemicals stored or transported in communities, especially data required under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA).
DECEMBER 21, 2020 — On December 15, the Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee (IMDCC) held a virtual public meeting focusing on marine debris monitoring and detection.
DECEMBER 21, 2020 — On December 15, the Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee (IMDCC) held a virtual public meeting focusing on marine debris monitoring and detection.
DECEMBER 21, 2020 — In August of 2019, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) received notification of a crude oil spill in the southern Louisiana marsh (29° 28' 33" N, 089° 38' 07" W). The oil company reported a release of 20 barrels of crude oil and an unknown quantity of produced water.
DECEMBER 14, 2020 — OR&R completed the last of four workshop days focused on defining what the next generation of Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps should/could look like in a resource constrained environment.
DECEMBER 14, 2020 — On Wednesday, December 9, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) SciTech Forum hosted a complimentary webinar weeks before the 2021 main event that addressed current impacts to the commercial aviation industry.
DECEMBER 14, 2020 — Prior to 2020, the majority of the OR&R training was conducted in-person at venues throughout the country.
DECEMBER 14, 2020 — On December 7 and 8, Andrew Mason, Pacific Northwest Regional Coordinator of the Marine Debris Program (MDP), along with support from multiple members from both the Atlantic and Pacific MDP Teams, hosted an all-virtual workshop to allow stakeholders and community members to update the existing Washington Marine Debris Action Plan created in 2018.
DECEMBER 14, 2020 — On December 7, Nancy Wallace, Director of the Marine Debris Program (MDP), presented at NASA’s Goddard Engineering Colloquium Series on the topic of remote sensing technologies for detection of marine debris.
DECEMBER 14, 2020 — On December 9, OR&R Director Scott Lundgren presented on a government panel at the American Salvage Association Annual Meeting alongside colleagues from the Coast Guard, Navy SupSalv, and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.
DECEMBER 7, 2020 — The U.S. Department of Justice lodged a consent decree for public comment proposing a settlement to fund natural resource restoration in Superfund sites along Seattle, Washington’s Lower Duwamish River.
DECEMBER 7, 2020 — On November 19, the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP), in its role as Chair of the Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee (IMDCC), hosted a webinar for IMDCC agency representatives as well as MDP staff.
DECEMBER 7, 2020 — On November 17, the Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) convened the National Ocean Service (NOS) Incident Management Team (IMT) for a virtual hotwash about the record setting 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season that included 29 named storms.
DECEMBER 7, 2020 — On December 1-2, the NOAA Marine Debris Program, led by Christy Kehoe, Mid-Atlantic Regional Coordinator, hosted a series of four virtual workshops to refine and confirm objectives and actions within the draft Mid-Atlantic Marine Debris Action Plan.
DECEMBER 7, 2020 — On November 23 – 27, chief scientist Amy Uhrin and research analyst Carlie Herring, from the NOAA Marine Debris Program, participated in the biennial MICRO2020 conference.
DECEMBER 7, 2020 — Following the Deepwater Horizon spill, in order to significantly reduce the time required to contain a deep sea well, industry built out ready to deploy subsea containment equipment and interim subsea dispersal equipment.
DECEMBER 7, 2020 — Please join us Thursday, December 17 at 3:00pm EST for the next episode of You Don't Know What You Don't Know. We are pleased to welcome a very special guest, Amy Kukulya from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
DECEMBER 7, 2020 — A Consent Decree was entered that includes $25 million as a partial settlement to restore natural resources injured by releases of hazardous substances to the Kalamazoo River and Portage Creek in Kalamazoo and Allegan Counties, Michigan.
November 2020
NOVEMBER 23, 2020 — In fiscal year 2020: OR&R provided scientific support for 200 pollution-related incidents.
NOVEMBER 23, 2020 — Assessing the hazards and risks posed by oil and petroleum products is challenging due to the complex nature and variable physiochemical properties of constituents comprising these substances.
NOVEMBER 23, 2020 — During the week of November 16, the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) hosted a virtual synthesis workshop titled “GoMRI Contributions to Dispersant Science.”
NOVEMBER 23, 2020 — On November 17, the Marine Debris Program (MDP) and the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation sponsored a half-day virtual workshop California Microfiber Workshop: Science, Innovation & Connection.
NOVEMBER 23, 2020 — Last week, members of the Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) participated in the 68th annual International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) Annual Conference, which was held for the first time as a virtual event.
NOVEMBER 23, 2020 — Ever wonder how oil spill responders come up with the ideas and suggestions for oil spill cleanups? Well, this last episode of the You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know lecture series explains it all. Dr. Tom Coolbaugh, program/facility manager of Ohmsett for the Applied Research Associates, Inc. dives into all the extraordinary studies and experiments they are conducting at Omhsett’s wave and test tank.
NOVEMBER 23, 2020 — On November 19, the Marine Debris Program released its Strategic Plan for fiscal years (FY) 2021-2025.
NOVEMBER 16, 2020 — The Hudson River Natural Resource Trustees released two data reports presenting findings on freshwater mussels in the Upper Hudson River in support of the Hudson River Natural Resource Damage Assessment.
NOVEMBER 16, 2020 — On November 10, the NOAA Marine Debris Program announced the fiscal year 2021 notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for North America Marine Debris Prevention and Removal projects.
NOVEMBER 16, 2020 — OR&R completed the second of four workshop days focused on helping to define what the next generation of Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps should/could look like in a resource constrained environment.
NOVEMBER 16, 2020 — On October 22, the Southeast and Great Lakes Regional Coordinators for the NOAA Marine Debris Program teamed up to host a virtual training on using the Southeast Marine Debris Collaborative Portal. This online portal allows visitors to view marine debris-related resources and information such as projects, cleanups, funding opportunities, and events for Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.
Vice-Commandant of the United States Coast Guard Visits NOAA Gulf of Mexico Disaster Response Center
NOVEMBER 16, 2020 — On November 6, 2020, Admiral Charles Ray, Vice-Commandant of the United States Coast Guard (USCG), visited the NOAA Gulf of Mexico Disaster Response Center (DRC) in Mobile, Alabama, to see first-hand where USCG Sector Mobile Hurricane Sally operations were managed, and to thank key staff that supported them.
NOVEMBER 16, 2020 — OR&R and Coast Guard National Pollution Funds Center (NPFC) representatives met virtually on October 30th to discuss their ongoing relationship. The NPFC provides funding to support OR&R's response to oil and hazardous substance releases and initiation of natural resource damage assessment.
NOVEMBER 9, 2020 — On October 20, Peter Murphy, Alaska Regional Coordinator for the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP), presented on Unoccupied Aerial System (UAS) efforts, observations, and opportunities at the recent Drones in the Coastal Zone Workshop.
NOVEMBER 9, 2020 — NOAA’s National Ocean Service brings a wealth of coastal science, management, and operational expertise to help communities respond to and recover from hurricanes.
NOVEMBER 9, 2020 — On November 5, Charles Grisafi, Southeast Regional Preparedness Coordinator, was a guest speaker representing the NOAA Disaster Preparedness Program at a South Carolina Hurricane Task Force virtual meeting hosted by the South Carolina Emergency Management Division (SCEMD).
NOVEMBER 9, 2020 — A review of selected 2019 literature on the Effects of Pollution on Marine Organisms has been published in the October 2020 Annual Literature Review Issue of Water Environment Research.
NOVEMBER 9, 2020 — On November 4, the Marine Debris Program released its 2020 Accomplishments Report.
NOVEMBER 9, 2020 — On October 29, Sarah Lowe, Great Lakes Regional Coordinator for the Marine Debris Program, participated in the virtual Lake Erie Science and Outdoor Writers Workshop, organized by Ohio Sea Grant.
NOVEMBER 2, 2020 — Over the past several weeks, members of the CAMEO® team participated in the virtual Fall 2020 National Association of SARA Title III Program Officials (NASTTPO) Conference, a meeting for members of the hazmat planning community to share best practices, hear updates on hazmat regulation and policy, and learn about tools and aids to help in hazmat management and response.
NOVEMBER 2, 2020 — On October 21, The Plastic Shift published an interview with Dr. Amy V. Uhrin, Chief Scientist of the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP).
NOVEMBER 2, 2020 — With the start of school, OR&R scientists began another year of exchanging letters with "pre-scientists" around the country. This month OR&R scientists participating in the Letters to a Pre-Scientist program received their first pen pal letters.
NOVEMBER 2, 2020 — An OR&R biologist was part of a discussion panel for the Eighth Annual Friday Harbor (Washington) Film Festival on October 25. The panel discussed the featured PBS documentary film, Changing Seas: A Decade After Deepwater, which showcased the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) research program and its scientists over the last ten years.
NOVEMBER 2, 2020 — OR&R Director Scott Lundgren and Senior Scientist Lisa DiPinto joined the Canadian Multi-Partner Research Initiative (CAMPRI) Advisory Committee held virtually on Wednesday October 28. CAMPRI is part of the Canadian National Oceans Protection Plan and is mid-way through five years of research that draws upon the expertise and experience of oil spill experts in Canada and internationally.
NOVEMBER 2, 2020 — OR&R Senior Scientist Lisa DiPinto joined scientists from the EPA and U.S. Coast Guard to conduct experiments at the Ohmsett test tank facility in Leonardo, New Jersey to prepare for larger scale experiments being planned for later this year.
October 2020
OCTOBER 26, 2020 — On October 20-21, the Gulf of Mexico Alliance’s Marine Debris Cross Team Initiative held its annual two-day meeting to bring together entities across the Gulf that currently address marine debris issues.
OCTOBER 26, 2020 — On October 15, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s (MDP) Chief Scientist, Amy V. Uhrin, provided a virtual presentation to the Pacific Islands Region Observer Program as part of their 6-month re-training meeting.
OCTOBER 26, 2020 — On October 19, Marine Debris Program (MDP) staff served on the U.S. delegation to the Fifteenth Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Oceans and Fisheries Working Group (OFWG) meeting.
OCTOBER 26, 2020 — The Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) is pleased to announce the second annual Lagniappe Awards request for proposals. The DPP has budgeted FY21 funds to continue to support preparedness across the National Ocean Service (NOS).
OCTOBER 26, 2020 — On October 14, 2020 a $22.3 million settlement was finalized to restore natural resources injured by the 2015 Refugio Beach oil spill near Santa Barbara, California.
OCTOBER 26, 2020 — Did you know that harmful algal blooms (HABS) cost the U.S. economy millions of dollars each year and impact every coast in the U.S., including the Great Lakes? Last Thursday on the You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know lecture series, we were honored to have renowned scientist and HAB expert, Dr. Quay Dortch, join us.
OCTOBER 19, 2020 — OR&R will host a Next Generation ESI Workshop—with stakeholders across multiple USCG Districts—to brainstorm ways to improve the process of updating Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps.
OCTOBER 19, 2020 — The Team Member of the Year award recognizes outstanding contributions to the National Ocean Service (NOS) programs and the demonstrated exceptional and sustained effort toward accomplishment of NOS missions.
OCTOBER 19, 2020 — On October 9, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s (MDP) Pacific Island Regional Coordinator, Mark Manuel, provided a virtual presentation to the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo (UH-Hilo) Marine Science 100 course.
OCTOBER 13, 2020 — Hurricane Sally made landfall at Gulf Shores, Alabama, on September 16, 2020 as a Category 2 storm with sustained winds of 105 mph and devastating storm surge. Battering the Alabama and Florida coastlines for over six hours, the storm’s impacts extended across a broad area of the northern Gulf of Mexico.
OCTOBER 13, 2020 — On October 6, the Southeast Assessment and Restoration Division Regional Manager, Kevin Kirsch, participated in the Houston Virtual Green Job Program. The event was organized by Citizens' Environmental Coalition, an organization out of Houston, TX that fosters dialogue, education, and collaboration on environmental issues in the Houston and Gulf Coast region.
OCTOBER 13, 2020 — On the evening of September 29, ARD's Southeast Regional Manager Kevin Kirsch provided the Savannah State University's Coastal Zone Management Class an introduction to the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) process.
OCTOBER 13, 2020 — On October 6, the Marine Debris Program participated in a virtual STEM teacher workshop engaging with teachers from Hawaii and American Samoa.
OCTOBER 13, 2020 — NOAA’s National Ocean Service brings a wealth of coastal science, management, and operational expertise to help communities respond to and recover from hurricanes. OR&R’s Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) supported National Ocean Service preparedness and response operations for Hurricane Delta for the duration of the event.
OCTOBER 5, 2020 — On September 16, Hurricane Sally made landfall in the early morning hours at Gulf Shores, Alabama, as a strong Category 2 hurricane with sustained wind speeds of 105 mph. The storm battered the Alabama and Florida coastlines for 6+ hours.
OCTOBER 5, 2020 — Over the past fiscal year, October 1, 2019 to September 30, 2020, OR&R's Emergency Response Division (ERD) was notified of 200 incidents and activated for 174 incidents. 82% were oil spills, 4% were chemical spills, and 14% were other incidents.
OCTOBER 5, 2020 — On September 30, the National Ocean Service published a two-part NOAA Ocean Podcast featuring Marine Debris Program (MDP) Chief Scientist, Dr. Amy V. Uhrin.
OCTOBER 5, 2020 — On September 23, Ashley Hill, the Marine Debris Program’s Florida and Caribbean Regional Coordinator, presented during the NOAA in the Caribbean Community Webinar about the Marine Debris Program’s current initiatives in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
OCTOBER 5, 2020 — Washington State University (WSU) Snohomish County Extension hosted the Oil Spill Awareness and Response Support course September 19 and 26.
OCTOBER 5, 2020 — Hurricane Sally made landfall at Gulf Shores, Alabama, on September 16, 2020 as a Category 2 storm with 105 mph winds and devastating storm surge. The storm’s impacts extended across a broad area of the Northern Gulf of Mexico.
OCTOBER 5, 2020 — OR&R, with co-hosts from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and U.S. Forest Service, led a Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (NRDAR) training for oil spill responders in Alaska.
September 2020
SEPTEMBER 28, 2020 — The first of three virtual symposia was held on Monday, September 21 to discuss key scientific results from ongoing research ranging from Arctic cod and forage fish impairment after oil spills to marine debris impacts nationally and internationally.
SEPTEMBER 28, 2020 — On September 9, OR&R Director Scott Lundgren joined the 2020 Spill of National Significance Executive (SONS) Seminar as the key advisor to the NOAA Principals — NOAA Administrator Dr. Neil Jacobs and National Ocean Service Acting Assistant Administrator Nicole LeBoeuf.
SEPTEMBER 28, 2020 — On September 15, Ashley Hill, the Marine Debris Program’s Florida and Caribbean Regional Coordinator, presented on marine debris activities in Florida during a Coastal Conservation Panel as part of the Florida Master Naturalist Program (FMNP) hosted by Loggerhead Marinelife Center.
SEPTEMBER 28, 2020 — On September 17, Andrew Mason, Pacific Northwest Regional Coordinator of the Marine Debris Program (MDP), joined the host of the local Washington State podcast Coastal Café to discuss the effects of marine debris on boaters in the region.
SEPTEMBER 28, 2020 — The Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Steel Corporation are making final preparations to initiate a joint sediment cleanup in the Saint Louis River in Duluth, Minnesota. They will dredge and excavate over 780,000 cubic yards of material in and around the former U.S. Steel Duluth Works site.
SEPTEMBER 21, 2020 — This past week Michel Gielazyn, a Regional Resource Coordinator with OR&R’s Assessment and Restoration Division in Florida, was part of a team awarded the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 4 2020 Bronze Award for Superior Service.
SEPTEMBER 21, 2020 — Recently, NOAA’s National Ocean Service (NOS) virtually deployed staff to FEMA’s National Response Coordination Center (NRCC) to support ongoing response efforts for Hurricane Laura and Tropical Storm Marco.
SEPTEMBER 21, 2020 — Oil spills, hazardous waste pollution, and ship groundings are events that can leave a lasting impact on coastal communities and ecosystems. NOAA’s Damage Assessment Remediation and Restoration Program (DARRP) works with partners across the United States to hold polluters accountable for pollution and help the environment recover. The DARRP website is an important tool for sharing information about this work with the public.
SEPTEMBER 21, 2020 — Did you know that depending on the wind, a heavy gas could follow the terrain rather than be carried by the wind? This is one bit of critical knowledge that was shared with responders during our week of online Science of Chemical Releases (SOCR) training.
SEPTEMBER 21, 2020 — Did you know that NOAA is chock-full of exceptional leaders? On September 10, as part of the “You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know” lecture series, we were honored to have the Deputy NOAA Administrator and retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral, Dr. Timothy Gallaudet as our speaker.
SEPTEMBER 21, 2020 — On September 17, the Twelfth Natural Resources Symposium, Natural Resources at a Crossroads, was presented virtually for the first time. This year’s focus was on private and public sector collaboration and management of natural resources and in the midst of the recent health emergency, climate change, the EU Green Deal, judicial decisions, and other influences.
SEPTEMBER 21, 2020 — The weekend of September 12, the NOAA Marine Debris Program participated in a virtual workshop for Hawaii science fair teachers. The workshop was developed through coordination between NOAA, Hawaii Academy of Science, and Students Corner, an online student and teacher project development platform.
SEPTEMBER 21, 2020 — On September 24, from 12:00 pm-1:00 pm EST, Beth Polidoro, an FY17 Marine Debris Program Research Grant awardee, will present her research during a OneNOAA Science Seminar.
SEPTEMBER 21, 2020 — On September 15, the NOAA Marine Debris Program announced the FY 2021 notice of funding opportunity for Marine Debris Research projects.
SEPTEMBER 8, 2020 — Starting in the last days of July, a notably increased amount of debris was reported in the Bering Straits region, with volumes and types of debris well outside the baseline “normal” debris typically observed, much of which with foreign language labeling.
SEPTEMBER 8, 2020 — Just when you've finished surrounding your prey with bubbles in the classic humpback "bubble net" technique, another whale swoops in and steals the catch.
SEPTEMBER 8, 2020 — Hurricane Laura came crashing into the shores of Southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas on Thursday morning, August 27, as a Category 4 storm. Prior to the storm making landfall near Cameron, Louisiana, OR&R's Emergency Response Division (ERD), and its Scientific Support team were busy coordinating support for the U.S. Coast Guard response.
August 2020
AUGUST 31, 2020 — It is not a shark, it is not the Loch Ness Monster, it is not even a jellyfish, it is the Indo-Pacific Lionfish! An incredibly invasive species wreaking havoc on the Atlantic reef fisher community.
AUGUST 31, 2020 — On August 26, Hillary Burgess joined the Marine Debris Program (MDP) as the new Monitoring Coordinator for the Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project (MDMAP).
AUGUST 31, 2020 — On September 2, Christy Kehoe, Mid-Atlantic Regional Coordinator, and Sherry Lippiatt, California Regional Coordinator, alongside Kathryn Youngblood, Citizen Science Director of the Marine Debris Tracker with the University of Georgia, will participate in a “Live” TRASH TALK from Baltimore, Maryland, moderated by Symone Barkely, host of Ocean Today.
AUGUST 31, 2020 — OR&R recently established a new agreement with the U.S. Coast Guard to update the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps for the St. Marys River, connecting Lake Superior to Lake Huron, and for the St. Lawrence River, from its start in Lake Ontario to the U.S./Canadian Border.
AUGUST 24, 2020 — OR&R’s Ben Shorr presented at this year’s NOAA Environmental Data Management Workshop. The theme of the overall workshop was “Data to Decisions: Putting NOAA Data to Work”.
AUGUST 24, 2020 — At this past week’s OR&R Tuesday Technical Talks with the NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator (SSC), Steve Lehmann, Senior SSC with OR&R’s Emergency Response Division for the Northeast region, training was offered two topics: Photo-Documentation for Oil Spills, and Considerations during Urban Oil Spill Response.
AUGUST 24, 2020 — The MC20 site in the Gulf of Mexico has been associated with persistent plumes of oil and gas and surface oil slicks. An oil platform owned by Taylor Energy Co., LLC collapsed after an underwater landslide during Hurricane Ivan (2004).
AUGUST 24, 2020 — Sometimes when you spend your career researching oil spill science, breaking it down into simplest terms can be a little tricky. A new oil spill education page on the National Ocean Service website aims to help scientists communicate their work, and help students learn about oil spills and marine pollution.
AUGUST 24, 2020 — In today’s environment, the need for comprehensive continuity plans is vital. Organizations and agencies must continue to perform essential functions and provide critical services, even when normal operations are disrupted.
AUGUST 24, 2020 — On August 19, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), a partner of the Marine Debris Program (MDP), announced four grants totaling $643,000 to support activities in Alaska, Florida, Maine, and Washington to reduce the amount of derelict fishing gear in the marine environment through the Fishing for Energy partnership.
AUGUST 24, 2020 — About two and a half days after the vast majority of remaining petroleum onboard the grounded M/V WAKASHIO had been removed, the ship split apart on Saturday, Aug. 15, and spilled a small amount of additional oil.
AUGUST 17, 2020 — Effective immediately, NOAA will remotely support the global response to an environmental emergency in the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius, after the bulk carrier Wakashio ran aground on a coral reef on July 25.
AUGUST 17, 2020 — NOAA, and the state, federal, and Tribal Trustees working on restoring habitat and resources impacted by the Portland Harbor hazardous waste site in Oregon have released a Draft Supplemental Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment for public comment.
AUGUST 17, 2020 — On August 10, the National Ocean Service (NOS) launched a Zero Waste Challenge. The NOS Zero Waste Initiative, supported by the Marine Debris Program, was created to reduce the amount of waste, especially single-use items, that we generate in our daily office operations and at NOS events.
AUGUST 17, 2020 — If you ever wondered how oyster reefs are built, it involves a team of dedicated experts and a water cannon. Over the last month, barges have blasted 100,000 bushels of small fossilized oyster shells, called oyster hash, into the Eastern Branch of Virginia’s Elizabeth River.
AUGUST 17, 2020 — NOAA’s awarding $870,592 to support a project working with recreational anglers aimed at restoring reef fish species impacted by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
AUGUST 10, 2020 — On August 3, NOAA’s Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) and the University of New Hampshire’s Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC) hosted their third virtual Hurricane Preparedness Summit for the National Ocean Service (NOS).
AUGUST 10, 2020 — On August 4, the Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R), in collaboration with the United States Coast Guard (USCG), hosted a virtual briefing on the Oil Pollution Act (OPA) of 1990. The briefing was open to all-interested staff, including relevant Senate and House committees.
AUGUST 10, 2020 — Ken Finkelstein, Regional Resource Coordinator with OR&R’s Assessment and Restoration Division, recently attended a NOAA congressional round table for the state of Rhode Island.
AUGUST 10, 2020 — On August 6, Charles Grisafi, Southeast Regional Preparedness Coordinator, represented the NOAA Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) at a South Carolina Hurricane Task Force virtual meeting hosted by the South Carolina Emergency Management Division (SCEMD).
AUGUST 10, 2020 — You are on the 16th fairway and having a great round, but the horizon is getting a bit dark. Fortunately, you have a weather app on your fancy smart phone. The red and yellow bands are still a ways in the distance and the thunder is only a low rumble. Someone else’s problem.
AUGUST 10, 2020 — On July 31, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s (MDP) Pacific Island Regional Coordinator, Mark Manuel, participated in the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) “Get into Your Sanctuary” celebration to raise awareness about the value of our national marine sanctuaries as iconic destinations for responsible recreation and stewardship.
July 2020
AUGUST 3, 2020 — Tuesday, August 28, was a historic day in Wilmington Delaware on the Brandywine River. American Shad were documented using a portion of the Delaware River for juvenile production that hasn't been available for centuries.
AUGUST 3, 2020 — On July 21, the Marine Debris Program (MDP) participated in a National Ocean Service (NOS) career panel for the staff, AmeriCorps Fellows, and other volunteers at the Ocean Discovery Institute (ODI).
AUGUST 3, 2020 — NOAA hosted 44 educators during the 2020 ACCESS STEM program, run by the Washington Alliance for Better Schools (WABS), WABS works with 12 school districts around Puget Sound and recruits teachers to learn about local industries/organizations. These teachers then create science/technology units based on the information they learned during their placements.
AUGUST 3, 2020 — On July 27, the secretariat of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum approved a project submitted jointly by the Marine Debris Program (MDP) and Department of State Office of Ocean and Polar Affairs to help enable governments, researchers, and others to more effectively monitor marine debris.
AUGUST 3, 2020 — One of the saddest and most rewarding jobs at a major environmental emergency response is that of wildlife rescue, recovery, and rehabilitation. Animals in dire condition are captured, evaluated, treated, rehabilitated and, with luck, released back into the wild.
AUGUST 3, 2020 — On July 22, 2020, Nancy Wallace, Director of the Marine Debris Program (MDP), joined the Department of Energy (DOE) Plastics Upcycling coordination call to present on the activities of the MDP.
JULY 27, 2020 — Those of a particular age remember the 1971 iconic television commercial of a tear rolling down the weathered cheek of a Native American as he looks at litter on the land.
JULY 27, 2020 — On TUESDAY TECHNICAL TALKS with the NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator this week, Kate Sampson, the Stranding and Entanglement Coordinator for National Marine Fisheries Service Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office perhaps surprised some in the Northeast with the fact that sea turtles ply these northern waters.
JULY 27, 2020 — Disasters often exceed the local, county, and even state capacity to effectively assess impacts and respond to life threatening situations. Aerial surveillance is a critical element to managing an effective response by identifying critical threats and other immediate issues.
JULY 27, 2020 — On July 20, 2020, the Marine Debris Program participated in a virtual career night panel held by the Dauphin Island Sea Lab Science Consortium for their Discovery Hall Programs 2020 High School Marine Science Class.
JULY 27, 2020 — On Friday, July 17, the OR&R Disaster Preparedness Program hosted the FEMA Administrator, Pete Gaynor; FEMA Region IV Administrator, Gracia Szczec; Alabama Emergency Management Agency Director, Brian Hastings; and other important partners, at the NOAA Gulf of Mexico Disaster Response Center (DRC) in Mobile, Alabama.
JULY 20, 2020 — The Gulf of Mexico (GOM) is the United States' largest offshore oil and gas production area.
JULY 20, 2020 — On July 16, the Department of State announced that the United States formally joined the Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI) as a member government of this multi-stakeholder partnership, joining 15 other governments and 85 non-government partners.
JULY 20, 2020 — On July 13, a Marine Debris Program (MDP) partner, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), announced 14 grants totaling $121,700 to prevent the accumulation of derelict fishing gear, or fishing gear that is lost, abandoned, or discarded in the marine environment, in port communities in U.S. coastal waters.
JULY 20, 2020 — On July 14 at the TUESDAY TECHNICAL TALKS with the NOAA SSC, responders, planners scientists joined Steve Lehmann, Senior Scientific Support Coordinator in the northeast for another in this weekly series designed to improve response skills and response science awareness.
JULY 20, 2020 — Four out of four experts agreed that climate change is the number one threat to corals around the world.
JULY 20, 2020 — The week of July 13, NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator (SSC) Paige Doelling, along with OR&R’s Katie Krushinski and Robb Wright participated in a hurricane preparedness exercise coordinated and planned by the Natural Disaster Operational Workgroup (NDOW).
JULY 20, 2020 — On July 15, the NOAA Marine Debris Program announced the FY 2021 notice of funding opportunity for Marine Debris Removal projects.
JULY 13, 2020 — In June, the NOAA Marine Debris Program and the National Park Service (NPS) finalized a five-year agreement to support the development and installation of outreach and educational displays or exhibits in coastal National Parks.
JULY 13, 2020 — On June 24- 25, the Marine Debris Program along with the California Ocean Protection Council, hosted the bi-annual California Ocean Litter Strategy (OLS) Workshop.
JULY 13, 2020 — In June, the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) added multilingual educational videos on marine debris in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) to the MDP's multimedia resources online.
JULY 13, 2020 — In preparation for peak hurricane season, the Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) has launched a new Situational Report (“SitRep”) tool to support the National Ocean Service’s (NOS) incident management activities.
JULY 13, 2020 — On June 29, the Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) and the University of New Hampshire’s Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC) hosted their second virtual Hurricane Preparedness Summit for the National Ocean Service, (NOS) in preparation for the 2020 hurricane season.
JULY 13, 2020 — One of the most efficient methods for removing an oil slick from the surface of the water (and one of the most exciting) is by burning it in place or “in-situ burning”. It is a technique that is difficult to master and still holds many challenges for researchers.
JULY 13, 2020 — After months of preparation, NOAA's Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) held their first-ever National Ocean Service (NOS) Incident Management Team (IMT) 101 Training on Wednesday, July 8.
JULY 13, 2020 — This summer, the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) MarineQuest, with the support of a NOAA Marine Debris Prevention Grant, is providing fun, virtual lessons about the impacts of marine debris on turtles for the young or young at heart through their program, Turtle Trash Collectors.
JULY 13, 2020 — On July 1, OR&R’s Emergency Response Division participated in a State of Hawaii sponsored dispersant monitoring exercise held in Oahu.
June 2020
JUNE 29, 2020 — On June 19, Kate Wheelock, Chief of the Disaster Preparedness Program, and Charles Grisafi, Southeast Regional Preparedness Coordinator, spoke with Washington D.C. and district staff from the office of Senator Rick Scott (FL).
JUNE 29, 2020 — Responding to and preparing for major oil spills requires the connection and coordination of many systems. The Texas General Land Office's Director of Research and Development explained how these systems have been connected and used in their coastal waters on the June 25 episode of OR&R’s YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW.
JUNE 29, 2020 — On June 18 and 19, Nancy Wallace, chief of the Marine Debris Division, participated in a virtual workshop hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Environmental Solutions Initiative.
JUNE 22, 2020 — On June 17, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Marine Debris Program released the “Delaware Marine Debris Emergency Response Guide: Comprehensive Guidance Document” (Guide).
JUNE 22, 2020 — On June 18, Dr. Bill Lehr, Scientist Emeritus for the National Ocean Service and OR&R retired senior scientist presented to 300 participants as part of the OR&R Lecture series, YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW, for a ride through the world of liquified natural gas (LNG) or liquified methane releases into the sea.
JUNE 22, 2020 — On June 12, 2020, Doug Helton participated in a “virtual” conference panel for 2020 Clean Pacific Conference on the challenges posed by abandoned and derelict vessels.
JUNE 22, 2020 — On June 6, Jennifer Simms, NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Communications and Education Specialist, presented virtually to 90 Cadets and four instructors.
JUNE 22, 2020 — OR&R provided scientific support through the U.S. National Response Team (NRT) in response to the Ecuador pipeline spill that occurred in early April.
JUNE 22, 2020 — On June 1-5, 2020, The Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) held a virtual all-staff operational planning meeting to start planning for FY2021.
JUNE 15, 2020 — In 2018, the Town of Beaufort in North Carolina began to clean up marine debris in the waters around the Town and the Rachel Carson Reserve with the support of a NOAA Marine Debris Program Marine Debris Removal Grant.
JUNE 15, 2020 — What do you get when you mix heavy oil, sand and a light surf? Sunken oil mats (SOMs), that’s what. They are difficult to find, difficult to recover and pose a continued threat to beaches following a major oil spill.
JUNE 8, 2020 — On May 28, the Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) hosted a virtual briefing for the Gulf of Mexico congressional delegations. The briefing was open to all interested staff from the Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas delegations, and relevant Senate and House Committees.
JUNE 8, 2020 — Oil slicks form, break apart in waves and turbulence and reform again. Oil droplets move through the water column at the surface or rise from the ocean floor as a result of well blowouts.
May 2020
JUNE 1, 2020 — "Towards thee I roll… to the last I grapple with thee” - Captain Ahab’s last words in “Moby Dick.” On Thursday May 28, OR&R’s weekly lecture series YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW featured Dr. Chris Barker of the Emergency Response Division discussing the art and science of tracking whale carcasses.
JUNE 1, 2020 — On May 20, the Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) hosted a virtual briefing for the Southeast congressional delegations.
JUNE 1, 2020 — On May 26, the NOS Incident Management Team (IMT), in coordination with the Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP), held their first completely virtual tabletop exercise.
JUNE 1, 2020 — On the list of what you didn’t know that you didn’t know, remotely controlled, fire-breathing jet skis for oil spill response would be right up there near the top. Well, they are under development and Dr. Tim Nedwed, lead for ExxonMobil’s Upstream Research Company discussed them on May 21 as part of OR&R’s weekly lecture series, YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW.
MAY 25, 2020 — A significant rainfall event that started on Sunday, May 17, has caused major flooding in the mid-Michigan area in the Saginaw River and ultimately resulted in the failures of the Edenville Dam and the Sanford Dam in Midland County.
MAY 25, 2020 — On May 15, the OR&R’s Marine Debris Program California Regional Coordinator, Sherry Lippiatt, and California Sea Grant Extension Fellow, Tanya Torres, participated in a virtual California Water Quality Monitoring Council / Trash Monitoring Workgroup meeting.
MAY 18, 2020 — On May 4, OR&R Director Scott Lundgren and Senior Scientist Lisa DiPinto participated in a virtual stakeholder panel for an oil spill “Modeling for Synthesis” workshop.
MAY 18, 2020 — On April 23, the National Ocean Service (NOS) held a virtual Hurricane Preparedness Summit in preparation for the 2020 hurricane season. The summit focused on hurricane readiness in the midst of a pandemic.
MAY 18, 2020 — Marine Debris Program Pacific Northwest Regional Coordinator, Andrew Mason, recently participated in two educational outreach opportunities with local students and volunteers.
MAY 18, 2020 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Marine Debris Program is pleased to release the “U.S. Virgin Islands Marine Debris Emergency Response Guide: Comprehensive Guidance Document” (Guide).
MAY 18, 2020 — The Refugio NRDA 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 recently-released draft Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan (DARP).
MAY 18, 2020 — Dogs comfort us, keep us safe, and occasionally bring us our slippers. Now they are a new and promising tool in oil spill assessment and clean up. In the weekly OR&R lecture series, “You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know” (Thursdays at 3:00 PM ET) Dr. Ed Owens, a world recognized oil spill response expert, discussed the amazing accuracy of trained dogs in finding buried oil
MAY 18, 2020 — The week of May 11, OR&R scientists participated in the Arctic Domain Awareness Center (ADAC) Program Year Sixth Annual Meeting. The ADAC works with international, federal, state, local, tribal, industry, and academic partners to advance domain awareness of the Arctic region.
MAY 11, 2020 — On May 8, the Marine Debris Program published a paper in Scientific Reports in which observer data from the Hawai'i-based pelagic longline fishery was used to estimate relative abundance of marine debris accidentally caught by the longlines.
MAY 11, 2020 — On April 15, Peter Murphy, Alaska Regional Coordinator for the Marine Debris Program, presented a NOAA Live! Webinar titled “Talking Trash – Marine Debris in Alaska & Beyond.”
MAY 11, 2020 — The Office of Response and Restoration has rolled out a weekly lecture series called, “You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know.” Every Thursday at 3:00 PM ET, an expert presents on a topic related to emergency response or environmental protection.
MAY 11, 2020 — On April 29, Nancy Wallace, Director of the Marine Debris Program, and Peter Murphy, Alaska Regional Coordinator, spoke with district and D.C. staff from the office of Senator Lisa Murkowski (AK).
MAY 4, 2020 — On April 22-24, Sherry Lippiatt (California Regional Coordinator) and Carlie Herring (Research Coordinator) with the Marine Debris Program participated in the NOAA Citizen Science Workshop.
MAY 4, 2020 — After thoughtful and extensive deliberation, NOAA and Washington Sea Grant made the difficult decision to cancel this year's NOAA Science Camp program.
MAY 4, 2020 — Scientists from the Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) Ecotoxicology Program and OR&R traveled from Seattle to Newport, Oregon, to join local scientists at the NWFSC Hatfield Marine Center to process more than 1400 juvenile Chinook salmon in a one day sampling intensive.
MAY 4, 2020 — To provide a glimpse into what NOAA scientists do in the Office of Response and Restoration, two OR&R scientists—marine biologist Gary Shigenaka and chemist Charlie Henry—recently led a NOAA Live! Webinar for students, The Job of a NOAA Oil Spill Response Scientist.
April 2020
APRIL 27, 2020 — The draft Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan for the Refugio Beach Oil Spill NRDA was released for public comment on Wednesday April 22, 2020.
APRIL 27, 2020 — On April 16, the director of the Marine Debris Program (MDP), Nancy Wallace, and other MDP team members participated in a phone call with Congressional staff from the offices of Senator Kaine (VA) and Senator Murkowski (AK) to discuss derelict fishing gear removal activities.
APRIL 27, 2020 — On April 21, the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) welcomed Tanya Torres as a California Sea Grant Marine Debris Extension Fellow.
APRIL 27, 2020 — On April 16, the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP), in collaboration with Sea Grant, awarded $350,000 to eight Sea Grant programs for projects that will research, prevent and remove marine debris in U.S. waters.
APRIL 27, 2020 — Periodically over the years, U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) active duty members interested in learning more about spill science will shadow a Scientific Support Coordinator or other member of OR&R’s Emergency Response Division under the USCG Marine Environmental Response Industry Training Program.
APRIL 27, 2020 — The Chemical Aquatic Fate and Effects (CAFE) team is excited to announce that the CAFE database was recently released as a web-based program.
APRIL 20, 2020 — OR&R presented The Ups and Downs of UxS Technology in Emergency Response and Damage Assessment in the Marine Environment: NOAA OR&R Case Studies and Standards Development, to the EPA Emergency Management Information Technology spring meeting on UxS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) deployment.
APRIL 20, 2020 — LTJG Hayley Betker recently came on board at OR&R’s Emergency Response Division (ERD) as the new Regional Response Officer (RRO) for the West Coast.
APRIL 20, 2020 — On April 9, the Marine Debris Program’s Gulf of Mexico Regional Coordinator, Caitlin Wessel, gave a virtual guest lecture for the University of South Alabama.
APRIL 20, 2020 — On April 10, Dr. Amy V. Uhrin, Chief Scientist for the NOAA Marine Debris Program, celebrated her 20th anniversary of working for NOAA.
APRIL 20, 2020 — April 15, 2020 - OR&R is pleased to announce the release of the Final Workshop Report from the “Leveraging Science and Academic Engagement during Incidents” workshop held in Tiburon, California, in June 2019.
APRIL 13, 2020 — On April 9, 2020, LCDR Michael Doig presented at the 28th Annual Joint Safety and Environmental Professional Development Symposium (PDS).
APRIL 13, 2020 — Last week the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) announced the Bin Program 2020 Request for Proposals from the Fishing for Energy partnership.
APRIL 13, 2020 — Collin Buckner is a Disaster Planning Associate with the DPP. Located in Mobile, Alabama at the Disaster Response Center (DRC), Collin is responsible for coordination efforts throughout the Northeast as well as the Gulf of Mexico.
APRIL 6, 2020 — Autumn Lotze, Natural Resource and Community Recovery Specialist, and Genwest contractor, recently participated in the Pacific Risk Management ‘Ohana Conference (PRiMO) on behalf of the Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP).
APRIL 6, 2020 — OR&R’s Emergency Response Division has completed a guidance document to help oil spill responders and planners better manage sunken (or submerged) oil mats, known as SOMs. SOMs can form near the shoreline under a range of circumstances and present unique and difficult challenges in oil spill response.
APRIL 6, 2020 — On Wednesday, March 25, the NOAA Marine Debris Program shared a blog outlining educational content about marine debris available online.
APRIL 6, 2020 — On March 13, the National Ocean Service (NOS) was awarded a Department of Commerce (DOC) Green Grant.
APRIL 6, 2020 — On April 2, the Marine Debris Program released the 2020 Florida Marine Debris Reduction Plan.
APRIL 6, 2020 — As NOAA's internal response to COVID-19 continues, the agency is adapting quickly implementing new protocols and policies.
March 2020
MARCH 30, 2020 — On March 17, NOAA’s Marine Debris Program participated in the virtual 2020 Virginia Marine Debris Leadership Team Meeting to update Virginia's Marine Debris Reduction Plan hosted by Virginia’s Coastal Zone Management Program and Longwood University.
MARCH 30, 2020 — NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration and the Restoration Center are pleased to announce a new publication in the journal Shore & Beach that highlights our work and leadership on long-term data management in the Gulf of Mexico.
MARCH 30, 2020 — As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, NOAA's Emergency Response Division (ERD) staff are working remotely, though our staff continues to take calls and to provide our core service of scientific support during spills and other emergencies.
MARCH 30, 2020 — The NOS Disaster Preparedness Program continues to provide Incident Coordination for the NOS Incident Management Team (IMT).
MARCH 20, 2020 — Following a competitive review process, the NOAA Marine Debris Program and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation are pleased to announce the six recipients of the 2019 Hurricane Response Marine Debris Removal Fund.
On February 20, 2020, Charles Grisafi, Southeast Regional Preparedness Coordinator, and Genwest contractor, represented the NOAA Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) at the 2020 South Carolina Disaster Intelligence Workshop hosted by the South Carolina Emergency Management Division (SCEMD), in Columbia, South Carolina.
MARCH 20, 2020 — On March 12, Demi Fox, Northeast Regional Coordinator for the Marine Debris Program, met with Congressional staff from the district offices of Senator Collins (ME) and Senator Shaheen (NH).
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.
MARCH 16, 2020 — OR&R, with funding support from the NOAA North Atlantic Regional Team, partnered with the Chesapeake Bay Science and Technical Advisory Committee and several regional experts and partners to organize a technical workshop on freshwater mussel ecosystem services and restoration activities.
MARCH 16, 2020 — In early 2020, the Marine Debris Program (MDP) was pleased to welcome several new people to the team.
MARCH 16, 2020 – [Updated March 30] On March 13, the Department of Justice announced filing for public comment of a consent decree proposing a $22.3 million settlement to restore natural resources injured by the Refugio Beach oil spill near Santa Barbara, California in 2015.
MARCH 9, 2020 — This week NOAA experts from Damage Assessment Remediation and Restoration Program (DARRP) and the General Council for Natural Resources gathered at NOAA's office in St. Petersburg, Florida, for a workshop to improve their negotiating skills to help ensure that the best outcomes can be achieved on behalf of the public.
MARCH 9, 2020 — The NOAA National Ocean Service (NOS) Equal Employment Opportunity, Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council (NEDAC) met for its annual retreat on February 24-25 in Silver Spring to develop an action plan for FY 20-22, in order to increase diversity and inclusion within NOS.
MARCH 9, 2020 — On Thursday, February 27th, the NOAA Marine Debris Program participated in the 4th Annual Ohio Clean Marina Conference in Port Clinton, Ohio.
MARCH 9, 2020 — On February 24, Caitlin Wessel, Gulf of Mexico Regional Coordinator for the Marine Debris Program, met with Congressional staff from the district offices of Senator Hyde-Smith and Senator Wicker.
MARCH 9, 2020 — On March 1, the Director of the NOAA Marine Debris Program, Nancy Wallace, spoke to the Gulf States Counties and Parishes Caucus at their annual meeting during the National Association of Counties Conference.
MARCH 9, 2020 — On February 26-27, the NOAA Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) co-hosted a 2-day Emergency Support Function (ESF) Resource Advisor Training course for the state of Florida, at the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve.
February 2020
MARCH 2, 2020 — Finding and characterizing submerged oil is expensive and a major technical challenge during spill responses and injury assessments, especially when the oil footprint is large and in the open ocean.
MARCH 2, 2020 — The Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) hosted a workshop at the Disaster Response Center on February 19-20 to identify preparedness needs and scope workshop and training ideas at the national and regional levels.
MARCH 2, 2020 — The NOAA/OR&R Scientific Support Coordinator in the Northeast, Steve Lehmann, organized and taught a one-day short course to approximately 100 responders and planners on Feb. 25 in New Hampshire.
MARCH 2, 2020 — [Updated March 26] On February 5-6, at NOAA’s Western Regional Center in Seattle the Disaster Preparedness Program facilitated a devolution site coordination meeting.
FEBRUARY 24, 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.
FEBRUARY 24, 2020 — On January 30-31, Marine Debris Program representatives Andrew Mason (Pacific Northwest Regional Coordinator) and Shanelle Naone (Pacific Islands Regional Communications and Outreach Coordinator) attended a workshop comprised of partners from across Oregon.
FEBRUARY 24, 2020 — On February 4-6, 2020, members of NOAA’s Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) and Emergency Response Division (ERD) attended the Regional Response Team IV Winter Meeting in Franklin, Tennessee.
FEBRUARY 24, 2020 — On February 10, NOAA’s Marine Debris Program participated in the 2020 Stormwater and Litter Workshop hosted at Randolph–Macon College in Ashland, Virginia.
FEBRUARY 24, 2020 — During the week of February 10, NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) held the first Science of Oil Spill (SOS) class of 2020, training 38 students from five federal agencies, one state agency and two industrial companies at the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) Eco-Discovery Center in Key West, Florida.
FEBRUARY 24, 2020 — Did you know that on average, garments are worn only 7 times before being disposed? Or that only 1% of textiles are recycled (garment to garment)?
FEBRUARY 17, 2020 — The Alaska Forum on the Environment (AFE) was held this week in Anchorage, Alaska, offering six keynote events, over 100 presentations, panel discussions, special events and workshops.
FEBRUARY 17, 2020 — In a few months, over 1,500 professionals from the international spill response community will gather at the International Oil Spill Conference and Exhibition (IOSC 2020) in New Orleans, Louisiana.
FEBRUARY 17, 2020 — NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R), a leader in providing scientific information in response to marine pollution, has scheduled a Science of Oil Spills (SOS) class for the week of June 22, in Seattle, Washington.
FEBRUARY 17, 2020 — There’s no better place to learn about environmental resilience than the South Wilmington Wetlands project in urban Wilmington, Delaware.
FEBRUARY 17, 2020 — On Saturday, February 8, the NOAA Marine Debris Program participated in Whale Day 2020 at Kalama Park in Kihei, Maui.
FEBRUARY 10, 2020 — On Jan. 28-29 in Jacksonville, Florida, Genwest contractors Charles Grisafi, Southeast Regional Preparedness Coordinator, and Autumn Lotze, Natural Resource and Community Recovery Specialist, represented OR&R’s Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) in the Southeast and Caribbean Disaster Recovery Partnership (SCDRP) 2020 Winter Meeting.
FEBRUARY 10, 2020 — On Jan. 23, the OR&R Diversity and Inclusion Committee hosted an event discussing the First Amendment, free speech, and hate speech.
FEBRUARY 10, 2020 — On February 5, Ian Zelo, joined Dann Karlson from NOAA’s Office of International Affairs and Jessica Levine from the NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction to discuss preparedness and response with a group of international partners participating in the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP).
FEBRUARY 10, 2020 — On Jan. 30, Communication and Education Specialist, Jennifer Simms, presented to the entire fifth grade of Spring Hill Elementary.
FEBRUARY 10, 2019 — The Office of Response and Restoration once again had strong participation in this year’s Gulf of Mexico Oil Spills and Ecosystem Science Conference (GOMOSES).
FEBRUARY 3, 2020 — While in Anchorage, Alaska to attend the Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Oceanographer Dylan Righi took the opportunity to visit the National Weather Service Alaska Sea Ice Program.
FEBRUARY 3, 2020 — On Jan. 29, the Marine Debris Program’s Chief Scientist, Amy V. Uhrin, and Research Analyst, Carlie Herring, participated in the United States Government Informal Nanoplastics Interest Group workshop held in Washington, D.C.
FEBRUARY 3, 2020 — On Jan. 23, the Marine Debris Program’s (MDP) Mid-Atlantic Regional Coordinator, Christy Kehoe, and Education and Communication Specialist, Jennifer Simms, presented at the “Wave of Plastic” Workshop located in Solomons Island, Maryland.
FEBRUARY 3, 2020 — Great Lakes Scientific Support Coordinator LCDR Michael Doig, was in Traverse City, Michigan, from Jan. 27-31 for the Northern Michigan Area Committee meeting and the annual No-Spills Conference.
FEBRUARY 3, 2020 — On January 27-28, the Marine Debris Program’s Chief Scientist, Amy V. Uhrin, participated in the National Academies of Science workshop, Emerging Technologies to Advance Research and Decisions on the Environmental Health Effects of Microplastics held in Washington, D.C.
FEBRUARY 3, 2020 — Three scientists from OR&R’s Emergency Response Division joined their colleagues from the NOS and other state and federal agencies attending the Alaska Marine Science Symposium in Anchorage the week of Jan. 27.
January 2020
JANUARY 27, 2020 — Last week a small team of scientists travelled to St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands to evaluate the effectiveness of repair and stabilization actions conducted in seagrass beds damaged by Hurricane Maria response activities.
JANUARY 27, 2020 — On January 18, the Marine Debris Program California Regional Coordinator, Sherry Lippiatt, joined the San Francisco chapter of the Surfrider Foundation for a cigarette butt canister installation event in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco.
JANUARY 27, 2020 — On January 22, the Marine Debris Program released the 2020-2025 Great Lakes Marine Debris Action Plan.
JANUARY 27, 2020 — On January 13, Nancy Wallace, Director of the Marine Debris Program (MDP), met with staff from the offices of Senator Dan Sullivan (AK), Rep. Don Young (AK-AL), and Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01).
JANUARY 27, 2020 — On the evening of January 22, 2020, retired OR&R biologist Alan Mearns joined members of the Snohomish County Marine Resources Committee (MRC) in recovering mussel cages at three intertidal sites in Edmonds.
JANUARY 27, 2020 — On January 24, OR&R Director Scott Lundgren participated in an information sharing meeting in Herndon, Virginia, with leadership of two associations that represent the private sector spill response capability that clean up oil spills in the U.S.
JANUARY 27, 2020 — The week of January 13, OR&R’s Emergency Response Division (ERD) hosted the Response Oil Assay Workshop: a two-day meeting held in Seattle to help identify the ideal set of physical and chemical properties of oil to include in a new public database under active development by ERD to support the oil spill response community.
JANUARY 17, 2020 — Last week NOAA OR&R scientists were invited by scientists from Watermapping LLC, to participate in field experiments to help determine the potential for using remote sensing to characterize marsh vegetation health following an oil spill event.
JANUARY 17, 2020 — On January 9, 2020 the Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) announced the recipients of the first annual Preparedness Lagniappe Awards.
JANUARY 17, 2020 — This week in Silver Spring, Maryland OR&R’s Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) held a 3-day NOAA-specific Incident Command System 300 (ICS 300) Level Training.
JANUARY 13, 2020 — On December 12-13, the Marine Debris Division's Chief Scientist, Amy V. Uhrin, participated in the French-American Workshop, Responding to Plastic Pollution through Science: From Research to Action held in Le Mans, France.
JANUARY 13, 2020 — On January 8, a group of about 30 students from Billings Middle School in Seattle, Washington, visited the NOAA Sand Point campus to learn about impacts of climate change on the oceans, including the impact of oil spills due to increased transportation and oil exploration.
JANUARY 13, 2020 — OR&R led a team of NOAA and Department of Interior scientists in publishing an improved method for determining how much, and what type of environmental restoration will compensate for ecological injuries that result from releases of hazardous substances or oil spills.
December 2019
DECEMBER 23, 2019 — Demonstrating NOAA’s commitment toward enhanced Arctic safety preparedness, select Office of Response & Restoration (OR&R) members participated in four days of intense Arctic Survival Training at the Seattle NOAA Western Regional Center Dec 10-13, 2019.
DECEMBER 23, 2019 — On December 11, the CAMEO® software team released updates of two products: Tier2 Submit™ and CAMEOfm.
DECEMBER 23, 2019 — On November 13, Sarah Latshaw, Southeast Regional Coordinator for NOAA’s Marine Debris Program, visited a College of Charleston Introduction to Geographical Information Systems (GIS) class to talk about the issue and share marine debris data.
DECEMBER 23, 2019 — Many of us are fortunate to have friends and family to spend the holiday season with; however, we know that many in our community face a different reality.
DECEMBER 16, 2019 — On December 11, the Marine Debris Program released the Great Lakes Land-based Marine Debris Action Plan Accomplishments Report 2014-2019.
DECEMBER 16, 2019 — On December 4, the Weeks Bay Foundation, in partnership with the Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve and NOAA’s Marine Debris Program wrapped up a two year derelict vessel removal project by hanging 25 “Derelict is Dangerous” signs at each of the state- or county-owned boat launches in Baldwin County, Alabama.
DECEMBER 16, 2019 — On December 3-4, 2019, the Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) joined forces with the Office for National Marine Sanctuaries and other NOAA offices to hold a functional exercise called “Shaken Sanctuaries.”
DECEMBER 16, 2019 — On December 3, NOAA’s Marine Debris Program hosted a Delaware Regional Response Planning workshop at the St. Jones National Estuarine Research Reserve in Dover, Delaware.
DECEMBER 16, 2019 — On December 3-5, the Marine Debris Program’s Northeast Regional Coordinator, Demi Fox, attended the International Whaling Commission (IWC) Third Marine Debris Workshop.
DECEMBER 16, 2019 — Convened by the Multi-Party Research Initiative, a 5 year, $45.5 million effort under Fisheries and Oceans Canada, a two-day workshop was held on December 11 and 12 which brought together research and policy individuals from Canada and the U.S.
DECEMBER 16, 2019 — On December 11, a Consent Decree was announced that includes $25 million as a partial settlement to restore natural resources injured by releases of hazardous substances to the Kalamazoo River and Portage Creek in Michigan.
DECEMBER 16, 2019 — The week of December 2, experts from the Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) were recognized at the National Ocean Service 2019 All Hands and Employee Recognition Ceremony at NOAA headquarters in Silver Spring.
DECEMBER 16, 2019 — NOAA's North Atlantic Regional Collaboration Team convened a roundtable discussion on December 9 in New York City with nine partners alongside of six NOAA staff with district staff from Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer's offices on NOAA's work to restore natural resources and its connections to resilience.
DECEMBER 9, 2019 — OR&R staff met with NOAA Veterinary Medical Officer Dr. Brian Stacy of the Office of Protected Resources in St. Petersburg, Florida, on November 21 to discuss research needs for strengthening injury assessments of sea turtles after oil spills.
DECEMBER 9, 2019 — On November 20, OR&R scientists, Steve Lehmann and Dr. Ken Finkelstein participated in a panel discussion titled “The Role of Academia in Emergency Response” at the University of Massachusetts at Boston.
DECEMBER 9, 2019 — On November 18 and 19, the Marine Debris Program’s Northeast Regional Coordinator, Demi Fox, participated in Clean Foundation’s Clean Ocean Summit 2019 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
DECEMBER 9, 2019 — On November 21, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Marine Debris Program (MDP), announced a request for proposals under the Hurricane Response Marine Debris Removal Fund.
DECEMBER 9, 2019 — On November 26, the Marine Debris Program (MDP) released the Gulf of Maine Marine Debris Action Plan.
DECEMBER 9, 2019 — On November 18-20, Nancy Wallace, Marine Debris Division Chief, attended the Ocean Conservancy’s Trash Free Seas Alliance annual meeting in San Diego, California.
DECEMBER 9, 2019 — On November 21, the Marine Debris Program’s Northeast Regional Coordinator, Demi Fox, served on a panel at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Water Summit.
DECEMBER 9, 2019 — Members of the Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) participated in the 67th International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) Annual Conference held in November at the Savannah Convention Center in Savannah, Georgia.
DECEMBER 9, 2019 — On November 21, the National Ocean Service Zero Waste (ZW) Team released a Guide to Hosting a ZW Holiday Party. Following the simple steps in the guide, we can celebrate the season while also protecting our planet.
November 2019
NOV. 25, 2019 — On Nov. 1, 2019, a delegation of 12 senior leaders from the Port of Seattle visited the NOAA Western Regional Center in Seattle to learn more about NOAA and areas of common interest in the Puget Sound.
NOV. 25, 2019 — Each year, the Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) supports the training of over 2,000 responders. The OR&R external training team and instructors are gearing up for a busy 2020.
NOV. 25, 2019 — On Nov. 19, Sherry Lippiatt, California regional coordinator for the Office of Response and Restoration Marine Debris Program, presented as part of the Amazon Lab126 seminar series.
NOV. 25, 2019 — On Nov. 16, Mark Manuel, Pacific Island regional coordinator for the Office of Response and Restoration Marine Debris Program, participated in the Friends of Waikiki Aquarium Fall Fest Event.
NOV. 25, 2019 — From Nov. 13-14, Peter Murphy with the Office of Response and Restoration Marine Debris Program (MDP) attended the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP) workshop on establishing marine litter monitoring guidelines for the Arctic, held in Copenhagen.
NOV. 25, 2019 — The National Ocean Service (NOS) awarded Mary Baker and Marla Steinhoff, Office of Response and Restoration, the biannual 2019 NOS Safety Pro Award for authoring comprehensive safety plans for essential field work on the Duwamish and Willamette rivers.
NOV. 25, 2019 — On Nov. 13, 2019, John Tarpley, regional operations branch chief in the Emergency Response Division, received the prestigious Legacy Award at the Pacific States-British Columbia Oil Spill Task Force annual meeting in Bellingham, Washington.
NOVEMBER 18, 2019 — On Wednesday, November 6, the Gulf of Mexico Disaster Response Center (DRC0 in Mobile, Alabama hosted not one, but two distinguished guests - RDML Timothy Gallaudet, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, and CAPT van Westendorp, of the Office of Coast Survey, Navigation Services Division.
NOVEMBER 18, 2019 — On November 6-7, 2019, members of the OR&R Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) and the OR&R Emergency Response Division attended the Regional Response Team 6 fall meeting in Addison, Texas.
NOVEMBER 18, 2019 — On November 5, Caitlin Wessel, Gulf of Mexico Regional Coordinator for the NOAA Marine Debris Program, co-chaired a session at Coastal Estuarine Research Foundation’s (CERF) biennial conference.
NOVEMBER 18, 2019 — OR&R Scientists George Graettinger and Lisa DiPinto recently published a paper titled “Classification of oil spill by thicknesses using multiple remote sensors” in the journal Remote Sensing of the Environment.
NOVEMBER 12, 2019 — On November 5, Nancy Wallace, Director of the NOAA Marine Debris Program, spoke on a discussion panel at La Maison Française, the French Embassy in Washington, D.C.
NOVEMBER 12, 2019 — NOAA’s Recovery Support Team -- Donna Johnson, Acting Recovery Support Function Lead (Northeast Fisheries Science Center/ National Marine Fisheries Service, on rotational assignment to NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management) and Autumn Lotze, Natural Resource and Community Recovery Specialist (OR&R Disaster Preparedness Program) -- recently met with stakeholders and key decision makers in Puerto Rico and the U.S.
NOVEMBER 12, 2019 — On October 29, Caitlin Wessel, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Gulf of Mexico Regional Coordinator, delivered a keynote address to almost 200 people at the Texas Plastic Pollution Symposium.
NOVEMBER 12, 2019 —The annual meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) emphasized “the need for environmental scientists and managers from all sectors (e.g., academia, business, government, non-profit, non-governmental and intergovernmental organizations) to work together at a global scale to address shared environmental challenges.”
On October 30-31, NOAA Marine Debris Program staff attended the Policy and Action on Plastic in the Arctic Ocean Workshop, co-hosted by The Harvard Kennedy School, The Wilson Center Polar Institute & the Icelandic Chairmanship of the Arctic Council.
NOVEMBER 12, 2019 — In advance of the Clean Gulf Scientific Conference, the NOAA Satellite and Information Service (NESDIS) and OR&R collaborated to provide training on their products and services regarding marine oil pollution.
NOVEMBER 12, 2019 — On November 4, Christy Kehoe, Mid-Atlantic Regional Coordinator for the Marine Debris Program (MDP), spoke at an event with Senator Carper (D-DE) to celebrate the University of Delaware’s receipt of a MDP research grant.
NOVEMBER 12, 2019 — During the week of October 28-31, ten scientists from NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration attended the Clean Gulf conference in New Orleans, Louisiana.
NOVEMBER 12, 2019 — For NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R), Fiscal Year 2019 was a year filled with new challenges and new achievements.
NOVEMBER 4, 2019 — On October 12, the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP) celebrated its 50th Anniversary.
NOVEMBER 4, 2019 — Staff members from OR&R and the Office of Coast Survey recently enjoyed a visit from Russell Callender, former Assistant Administrator of NOAA’s National Ocean Service. In 2018, Dr. Callender was named as the new Director of Washington Sea Grant at the University of Washington in Seattle.
NOVEMBER 4, 2019 — NOAA Marine Debris Program’s (MDP) Pacific Island Region team members participated in the University of Hawai’i’s School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology’s (SOEST) 2019 Open House Program on October 25-26.
NOVEMBER 4, 2019 — SOLVE Oregon, in partnership with Oregon State Parks, launched a state-wise adopt-a-beach program.
NOVEMBER 4, 2019 — In early October, members of the CAMEO® software team attended two conferences in Houston, Texas, to get feedback from emergency planners and responders on our CAMEO software and to stay up to date on issues surrounding hazardous material response.
NOVEMBER 4, 2019 — On October 17-18, the Marine Debris Program (MDP) participated and presented at the Lighthouse Lofoten conference in Svolvaer, Norway.
NOVEMBER 4, 2019 — On October 24, the Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) met with staff from the office of Senator Shaheen (NH) along with and through an invitation from the University of New Hampshire Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC).
NOVEMBER 4, 2019 — On October 16-27, the Marine Debris Program (MDP) was represented at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the North Pacific Marine Science Organization which took place in Victoria, BC Canada.
October 2019
OCTOBER 28, 2019 — What can $28 million do to restore polluted waters across America? In the 2019 fiscal year, NOAA worked with our co-trustees to reach settlements to restore natural resources injured by pollution.
OCTOBER 28, 2019 — On October 8 and 9, members of NOAA Marine Debris Program collaborated with the Gulf of Mexico Alliance (GOMA) and the Environmental Protection Agency to engage more than 60 partners at the GOMA Team Initiative meeting in Texas that aimed to tackle marine debris.
OCTOBER 28, 2019 — The 2018 literature review on the Effects of Pollution on Marine Organisms, authored by three OR&R scientists and partners, has been published in the October 2019 issue of Water Environment Research.
OCTOBER 28, 2019 — The deep-pelagic is both the largest and least-understood habitat in the Gulf of Mexico. Dan Hahn, of OR&R’s Assessment and Restoration Division is on a diverse team of federal and academic scientists working to better understand the abundance and diversity of life in these dark waters.
OCTOBER 28, 2019 — On October 10, NOAA Marine Debris Program California Regional Coordinator, Sherry Lippiatt, spoke at Moss Landing Marine Labs in Moss Landing, California, as part of their Seminar Series.
OCTOBER 28, 2019 — During the week of October 14, NOAA Marine Debris Program Research Coordinator, Carlie Herring, and NOAA Marine Debris Program Northeast Regional Coordinator, Demi Fox, participated in a research road trip through New England.
OCTOBER 28, 2019 —OR&R joined the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and public school teachers and students in Brooklyn, New York, on October 22 for the annual Day in the Life of the Hudson and Harbor event.
OCTOBER 28, 2019 — OR&R’s Emergency Response Division assisted California’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) to provide oil spill science training to up-and-coming California spill responders this past week.
OCTOBER 21, 2019 — Virginia’s barrier islands are remote, ecologically valuable, and highly sensitive to oil spills. Given its critical importance, the United Nations designated the Virginia barrier islands as a Biosphere Reserve.
OCTOBER 21, 2019 — On October 10, NOAA Marine Debris Program Chief Scientist, Amy Uhrin, and NOAA Marine Debris Program Research Coordinator, Carlie Herring, led an intra-Program training on marine debris shoreline monitoring methods at Sandy Point State Park in Annapolis, Maryland.
OCTOBER 21, 2019 — In early October, NOAA Marine Debris Program Division Chief, Nancy Wallace, attended the XPRIZE Visoneering event in Los Angeles. Attendees help XPRIZE refine and iterate how they tackle global challenges, learn from one another about breakthrough efforts being conducted across the world, and hear and experience new exponential technologies that are reshaping society.
OCTOBER 21, 2019 — A diverse array of stakeholders gathered to share information regarding scientific, economic and legal issues to advance the Natural Resource Damage Assessment practice.
OCTOBER 21, 2019 — OR&R’s Emergency Response Division Chief, Scott Lundgren, participated in the biennial Spills Advisory Group on October 9, hosted by the American Petroleum Institute and bringing together representatives of state and federal government, non-government organizations, academia, petroleum industry, and cleanup organizations for information sharing on spill preparedness and response.
OCTOBER 21, 2019 — The groundbreaking of a new urban wetland in Wilmington, Delaware was held on October 18, at a gathering that included Delaware Governor John Carney, Senator Chris Coons, Mayor Mike Purzycki and other community leaders.
OCTOBER 14, 2019 — On October 1, 2019, OR&R Emergency Response Chief Scott Lundgren and OR&R Senior Scientist Lisa DiPinto met with representatives of ITOPF (formerly the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation) at its headquarters in London.
OCTOBER 14, 2019 — From October 2-4, 2019, OR&R Emergency Response Chief Scott Lundgren and OR&R Senior Scientist Lisa DiPinto participated in the International Technical Advisory Committee meeting held at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, United Kingdom.
OCTOBER 10, 2019 — A vessel that capsized early last month remains on its side in St. Simons Sound and continues to pose a pollution threat as responders work to remove the oil onboard.
OCTOBER 14, 2019 — On October 7, Yaritza Rivera, NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Hurricane Response Coordinator, joined the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and National Fish & Wildlife Service Foundation (NFWF) at the South Atlantic Coastal Study (SACs) & Coastal Resilience Assessments workshop in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
OCTOBER 7, 2019 — On September 30, NOAA Marine Debris Program’s (MDP) Northeast regional coordinator, Demi Fox, along with Kara Lavender Law, research professor of oceanography at Sea Education Association, and Stewart Harris, director of marine and environmental stewardship for the Plastics Division at American Chemistry Council, joined a panel at the University of Rhode Island’s first ever Plastics: Land to Sea Summit.
OCTOBER 7, 2019 — On September 25-26, OR&R’s LT Michael Doig participated in a multi-day CANUSLAK cross-border oil spill training exercise in Port Huron, Michigan and Corunna, Ontario.
OCTOBER 7, 2019 — On October 1-2, the NOAA Marine Debris Program Pacific Regional Coordinator, Nir Barnea, participated in the Microplastic Monitoring Workshop, conducted at the Seattle Aquarium.
OCTOBER 7, 2019 — On September 25, Caitlin Wessel, NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Gulf of Mexico Regional Coordinator, joined the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) in an event to announce the 2019 Fishing for Energy awardees and celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Fishing for Energy program.
OCTOBER 7, 2019 — Gary Shigenaka, an OR&R biologist, was invited to present to the College of the Coast and Environment (CC&E) at Louisiana State University on the history of oil and oil spills.
September 2019
SEPTEMBER 28, 2019 — On September 26, the NOAA Marine Debris Program released a study by Abt Associates, Inc., evaluating the effects of marine debris on beach recreation and regional economies in four coastal communities.
SEPTEMBER 28, 2019 — On September 19, the Marine Debris Program released its first biennial update to the 2017-2023 Oregon Marine Debris Action Plan.
SEPTEMBER 28, 2019 — OR&R’s Emergency Response Division attended an equipment deployment exercise by Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN) this past week as they practiced the transport, set up, and inventory of mobile wildlife care facilities for moderate/large oil spills.
SEPTEMBER 28, 2019 — On September 21, the Marine Debris Program and other NOAA partners participated in the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup events throughout the United States, including the Pacific Islands and Hawaii, the Pacific Northwest, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and other areas.
SEPTEMBER 23, 2019 — On August 28 and 29, the Great Lakes Marine Debris Community met in Toledo, Ohio to discuss progress to date on addressing marine debris in the Great Lakes region.
SEPTEMBER 23, 2019 — Based in Honolulu, Hawai’i, and born and raised on the island of O‘ahu, Shanelle grew up surrounded by the ocean and rich history the islands offer.
SEPTEMBER 23, 2019 — OR&R’s Assessment and Restoration Division’s Spatial Data Branch and Emergency Response Division provided Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA) training to Hawaii responders on September 11.
SEPTEMBER 23, 2019 — On September 18, the NOAA Marine Debris Program announced its FY 2020 “Marine Debris Prevention” federal funding opportunity.
SEPTEMBER 16, 2019 — On September 10, OR&R’s Tom Brosnan, Robb Wright, Simeon Hahn, and Megan Ewald participated in the Christina River Sediment Remediation Technical Workshop in Wilmington, Delaware.