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.
October 21, 2016
Posted: September 13, 2019
Posted: September 13, 2019
SEPTEMBER 16, 2019 — On September 3 - 6, OR&R’s Emergency Response Division (ERD) staff held an all-hands meeting in Cle Elum, Washington in the Cascade Mountains, east of OR&R’s Seattle office.
Posted: September 13, 2019
SEPTEMBER 16, 2019 — On September 11, the OR&R Emergency Response Division Chief and Senior Scientist participated in the 4th quarter FY2019 Interagency Coordinating Committee on Oil Pollution Research (ICCOPR) hosted by the University of Maryland’s Department of Fire Protection Engineering in College Park, Maryland.
Posted: September 13, 2019
SEPTEMBER 16, 2019 — On September 10, OR&R's Emergency response Division (ERD) staff joined staff from National Marine Fisheries Service, National Marine Sanctuaries and National Weather Service on a tour of the Honolulu Fish Auction on Pier 38 in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Posted: September 13, 2019
SEPTEMBER 16, 2019 — OR&R participated in NOAA’s Environmental Data Management workshop held in Seattle, Washington on September 4-5.
Posted: September 13, 2019
SEPTEMBER 16, 2019 — Hurricane Dorian formed on August 24, was the fourth named storm and the first major hurricane of the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season. At its peak, the National Weather Service reported that Hurricane Dorian reached Category 5 intensity with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph, making this a major hurricane.
Posted: September 13, 2019
SEPTEMBER 16, 2019 — On October 10, the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) will air a documentary, “The Serengeti Rules.”
Posted: September 13, 2019
SEPTEMBER 16, 2019 — Each year the SPIE Journal of Applied Remote Sensing honors teams with Best Paper Awards for contributions to science.
September 2019
Posted: September 2, 2019
SEPT. 3, 2019 — Lieutenant Commander Jim Rosenberg, with OR&R’s Emergency Response Division, provided instruction at the annual North West Oil Spill Control Course in Port Angeles, Washington, on Aug. 26-30. Jim is the scientific support coordinator for the Northwestern Continental U.S.
Posted: September 2, 2019
SEPT. 3, 2019 — On Aug. 20-21, the Marine Debris Program’s international activities and partnership coordinator, Steve Morrison, served on the U.S. delegation at the 13th Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ocean and Fisheries Working Group (OFWG) in Puerto Varas, Chile
OR&R Biologist Presents to Salish Sea Association of Marine Naturalists in Friday Harbor, Washington
Posted: September 2, 2019
SEPT. 3, 2019 — On Aug. 29, OR&R biologist Gary Shigenaka gave an invited presentation to the Salish Sea Association of Marine Naturalists at the Friday Harbor Whale Museum in Friday Harbor, Washington.
Posted: September 2, 2019
SEPT. 3, 2019 — Last week, scientists from NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration, in collaboration with an interdisciplinary and interagency team of researchers and oil spill responders, tested new tools and methods for characterizing oil slicks and oil in the water column following an oil spill.
August 2019
Posted: August 23, 2019
AUGUST 26, 2019 —The NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Pacific Island Region includes not only the Hawaiian archipelago, but also the Pacific island territories.
Posted: August 23, 2019
AUGUST 26, 2019 — On August 13, the NOAA Marine Debris Program's California Regional Coordinator, Sherry Lippiatt, presented on marine debris prevention strategies at the California Resource Recovery Association Conference.
Posted: August 23, 2019
AUGUST 26, 2019 — On August 6 and 7, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region III and the Delaware Emergency Management Agency led a debris management training for emergency responders in Dover, Delaware.
Posted: August 23, 2019
AUGUST 26, 2019 — The Deepwater Horizon oil spill lasted for 87 days, discharged millions of barrels into the Gulf of Mexico, and posed unprecedented challenges for oil spill experts.
Posted: August 16, 2019
AUGUST 19, 2019 — On August 9 the Office of Response and Restoration’s Emergency Response Division participated in a Hawaiian Electric Company worst-case oil spill exercise held in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Posted: August 16, 2019
AUGUST 19, 2019 — OR&R’s Emergency Response Division, with assistance from partners with the NOAA Pacific Services Center and NOAA Pacific Fisheries Science Center, hosted visitors from the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Sector Honolulu Incident Management Team at the Inouye Regional Center in Honolulu, Hawaii on August 14.
Posted: August 16, 2019
AUGUST 19, 2019 — OR&R’s Simeon Hahn of the Assessment and Restoration Division organized and led the Delaware River Urban Water Federal Partnership meeting at the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) office in Dover, Delaware, on Aug 7.
Posted: August 16, 2019
AUGUST 19, 2019 — On August 8, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Director, Nancy Wallace, spoke to a group of seven foreign journalists from Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Indonesia during a State Department-sponsored reporting tour covering American policy topics: "The U.S. Vision for the Indo-Pacific Region.”
Posted: August 16, 2019
AUGUST 19, 2019 — On July 31, the National Ocean Service (NOS) Zero Waste Team, comprised of 13 representatives from NOS program offices and NOS headquarters, came together at the first Zero Waste Workshop in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Posted: August 16, 2019
AUGUST 19, 2019 — On August 6, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Northeast Regional Coordinator, Demi Fox, joined partners at the Center for Coastal Studies and the Provincetown Harbormaster’s Office for a marine debris cleanup in the Provincetown intertidal area known as the “west end flats.”
Posted: August 9, 2019
AUGUST 12, 2019 — On July 22-26, the NOAA Marine Debris Program's Chief Scientist, Amy V. Uhrin, traveled to Honolulu, Hawai'I, to meet with Program partners in the region and participate in the Hawai'i Marine Debris Action Plan Research Workshop.
Posted: August 9, 2019
AUGUST 12, 2019 — On July 25-26, over 50 researchers participated in the 2019 Hawai'i Marine Debris Action Plan Research Workshop, hosted by the NOAA Marine Debris Program and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Posted: August 9, 2019
AUGUST 12, 2019 — On August 5, the Western Regional Center in Seattle was visited by a delegation of congressional travelers from Washington, D.C.
Posted: August 2, 2019
AUGUST 5, 2019 — On July 30 -August 1, the OR&R Diversity and Inclusion committee (D&I) met in Silver Spring, Maryland, to develop an action plan for the next two years.
Posted: August 2, 2019
AUGUST 5, 2019 — On July 26, the Marine Debris Program’s Gulf of Mexico Regional Coordinator, Caitlin Wessel, participated in a NOAA-funded marine debris removal and restoration project at the Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) in Weeks Bay, Alabama.
Posted: August 2, 2019
AUGUST 5, 2019 — As part of the US National Response Team (NRT) – Panama Canal Authority (ACP) Subcommittee, NOAA helped plan, execute, and evaluate the annual EcoCanal ’19 exercise.
July 2019
Posted: July 26, 2019
JULY 29, 2019 — On July 23, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s (MDP) Northeast Regional Coordinator, Demi Fox, and Communications and Education Specialist, Jennifer Simms, led a workshop titled: How to Talk Trash: Lessons from NOAA’s Marine Debris Program at the annual National Marine Educators Association conference at the University of New Hampshire.
Posted: July 26, 2019
JULY 29, 2019 — On July 18, OR&R’s division chiefs met with staff from members of Congress in California and Florida to discuss our activities in their states.
Posted: July 26, 2019
JULY 29, 2019 — On July 23, Steve Morrison of the Marine Debris Program joined other staff from across NOAA in a meeting with representatives of Taiwan’s Ocean Conservation Administration, Ocean Affairs Council.
Posted: July 26, 2019
JULY 29, 2019 — On July 23-25, OR&R’s Emergency Response Division conducted Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Techniques (SCAT) Team Member Training in the Arctic hosted by Alaska Clean Seas at their training facility in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.
Posted: July 26, 2019
JULY 29, 2019 — The week of July 22, NOAA OR&R staff held their annual Science of Oil Spills (SOS) training in Independence, at the Educational Service Center of Northeast Ohio.
NOAA Marine Debris Program Participates in Bi-national Presentation at Gulf of Maine Council Meeting
Posted: July 19, 2019
JULY 22, 2019 — On July 10 and 11, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Northeast Regional Coordinator, Demi Fox, attended a Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment meeting in Halifax, Nova Scotia to update the Council on U.S.-Canada collaborations to prevent and remove marine debris throughout the bi-national region.
Posted: July 19, 2019
JULY 22, 2019 — OR&R sponsored a NRDA (Natural Resource Damage Assessment) workshop through Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC) in Hawaii from July 16-18.
Posted: July 19, 2019
JULY 19, 2019 — Oil recovery operations on a World War II-era shipwreck near Long Island, New York are now nearing completion after resulting in the removal of more than 450,000 gallons of oil over a period of nearly three months.
Posted: July 19, 2019
JULY 22, 2019 — Last week, over 50 OR&R participants gathered to discuss some of the ethical questions about travel and tourism.
Posted: July 19, 2019
JULY 22, 2019 — On July 13, Charles Grisafi, Florida and Caribbean Regional Coordinator for the NOAA Marine Debris Program, participated in a special “bonus” Ghost Trap Rodeo event in Tampa Bay.
Posted: July 19, 2019
JULY 22, 2019 — On July 16 the OR&R Disaster Preparedness Program chief, Kate Wheelock, attended the Professional Services Council (PSC) membership meeting where she presented lessons learned from the 2018 hurricanes that devastated the mid-Atlantic coast.
Posted: July 12, 2019
JULY 15, 2019 — On June 26 in Oakland, California, the Marine Debris Program convened a group of 20 California non-profit and agency partners for a training workshop delivered by Root Solutions.
Posted: July 12, 2019
JULY 15, 2019 —The OR&R Emergency Response Division sponsored a June 25-26 workshop titled “Leveraging Science and Academic Engagement” in Tiburon, California.
Posted: July 12, 2019
JULY 15, 2019 — On June 26, the NOAA Marine Debris Program Pacific Northwest Coordinator joined 40 current and future Puget Sound Dungeness crabbers in a well-attended workshop to learn how to catch more crabs and lose less crab pots.
Posted: July 12, 2019
JULY 15, 2019 — On July 8 - 9, OR&R’s LT Michael Doig and LT Joshua Valdivia, of the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) provided spill response training for USCG Sector Sault Ste. Marie. This was the last of 5 classes conducted around USCG District 9.
Posted: July 12, 2019
JULY 15, 2019 — Early morning on Thursday July 4, during a minus tide, Skipper David Janka (Auklet Charters, Cordova, Alaska) stepped ashore at a cove on Knight Island in Prince William Sound and took the 30th annual photograph of a scene known as “Mearns Rock”.
Posted: July 11, 2019
A new story map about the Lower Duwamish River Superfund site in Seattle is now live and available to the public.
June 2019
Posted: June 28, 2019
JULY 1, 2019 — OR&R Emergency Response Division employees LCDR James Rosenberg and LTJG Matt Bissell visited three tribal nations (Quinault, Quileute, and Makah) the week of June 24 to provide oil spill response training to tribal members.
Posted: June 28, 2019
JULY 1, 2019 — On June 17 - 19, partners representing diverse stakeholders from Virginia, Delaware, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Washington, DC gathered at the 2019 Mid-Atlantic Marine Debris Summit in Arlington, Virginia.
Posted: June 28, 2019
JULY 1, 2019 — On June 27, the Marine Debris Program released the Southeast Marine Debris Action Plan.
Posted: June 26, 2019
JULY 1, 2019 — The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) was established in 2010 with the stated goal to improve society’s ability to understand, respond to, and mitigate the impacts of petroleum pollution and related stressors of the marine and coastal ecosystems. As the conclusion of 10 years of GoMRI’s investment in research approaches, the research board has shifted focus toward achieving comprehensive scientific synthesis.
Posted: June 26, 2019
JULY 1, 2019 — During June 18-20, 2019, the University of New Hampshire’s Coastal Response Research Center (CRCC) partnered with the Office of Response and Restoration’s Disaster Preparedness Program to hold NOAA’s 5th Regional Preparedness Workshop and Training (NRPT).
Posted: June 26, 2019
JULY 1, 2019 — OR&R Emergency Response Chief Scott Lundgren, oceanographer Chris Barker, and chemist Dalina Thrift-Viveros participated in a meeting on June 11, 2019 to discuss hazard modeling roles, responsibilities, recent incident coordination, and future exercises and engagements.
Posted: June 21, 2019
JUNE 24, 2019 — Troy Baker, of OR&R’s Assessment & Restoration Division recently participated in a two-week exercise focused on modeling radiation doses in the terrestrial and aquatic environments.
Posted: June 21, 2019
JUNE 24, 2019 — During the week of June 10-14, 2019, in Brockport, New York, scientists from around the Great Lakes region gathered to discuss important lake-based issues, including marine debris.
Posted: June 21, 2019
JUNE 24, 2019 —ORR’s Emergency Response Division and their Assessment and Restoration Division, the National Marine Fisheries Service Restoration Center, NOAA Sanctuaries, and the National Weather Service participated in the BP Shipping/Alaska Tanker Company (ATC) Drill in San Mateo, California on June 18-20.
Posted: June 21, 2019
JUNE 24, 2019 — On June 11, the NOAA Marine Debris Program Pacific Northwest Coordinator Nir Barnea joined the field team for the project “Derelict Crab Pot Removal and Outreach in Washington’s Salish Sea”.
Posted: June 21, 2019
JUNE 24, 2019 — Dealing with medium and large debris in coastal waters can be chronic, complicated, and costly for many states.
Posted: June 21, 2019
JUNE 24, 2019 — The Gulf of Mexico Alliance 2019 All Hands Meeting was held from June 10 - 14 at the new Gulf State Lodge in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
Posted: June 21, 2019
JUNE 24, 2019 — During the week of June 17, OR&R staff from the Emergency Response Division and the Gulf of Mexico Disaster Response Center held a four-day Science of Chemical Releases course in Seattle, Washington, at NOAA’s Western Regional Center and at the Institute of Ocean Science in Sidney, British Columbia.
Posted: June 21, 2019
JUNE 24, 2019 — NOAA scientists don’t only work on boats, they work with communities, in cities, and close to home.
Posted: June 21, 2019
JUNE 24, 2019 — On June 10-11 and 13-14, 2019, OR&R’s LT Michael Doig and LT Joshua Valdivia, of the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) provided spill response training for USCG MSU (Marine Safety Unit) Duluth and Sector Lake Michigan.
Posted: June 14, 2019
JUNE 17, 2019 — On June 5 and 6, the Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) hosted their annual Teachers on the Estuary (TOTE) workshop at the Weeks Bay NERR in Baldwin County, Alabama.
Posted: June 14, 2019
JUNE 17, 2019 — On June 3-6, 2019, Doug Helton from OR&R’s Emergency Response Division joined the U.S. Coast Guard and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and Alaskan delegates in Bodø, Norway, for meetings with the Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response Working Group (EPPR).
Posted: June 14, 2019
JUNE 17, 2019 — On June 4, the Marine Debris Program Director, Nancy Wallace, moderated an Ocean Plastics panel at the Blue Tech Expo in Washington, D.C.
Posted: June 14, 2019
JUNE 17, 2019 — It was a busy weekend celebrating World Ocean Day in New England. The Marine Debris Program’s (MDP) Northeast Regional Coordinator, Demi Fox, attended two of the countless events hosted across the region.
Posted: June 14, 2019
JUNE 17, 2019 — On June 5-6, 2019, the NOAA Western Regional Collaboration Team (NOAA West) partnered with the Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) to hold a tabletop exercise which simulated an earthquake and resulting tsunami impacting the Seattle region.
Posted: June 10, 2019
JUNE 10, 2019 — During the week of June 3, NOAA OR&R staff held their annual Science of Oil Spills (SOS) training in Seattle, Washington at NOAA’s Western Regional Center.
Posted: June 10, 2019
JUNE 10, 2019 — The week of June 3, OR&R’s Assessment and Restoration Division partnered with the Hudson River Estuary Program/Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve at the Great Fish Count at Lemon Creek Park in Staten Island.
Posted: June 10, 2019
JUNE 10, 2019 — The week of June 3, OR&R scientists George Graettinger and Lisa DiPinto leveraged collaborative relationships with the Arctic Domain Awareness Center (ADAC) , the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), the U.S.
Posted: June 10, 2019
JUNE 10, 2019 —The 42nd AMOP (Arctic and Marine Oil Spill Program) Technical Seminar on Environmental Contamination and Response was held June 4-6 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Posted: June 10, 2019
JUNE 10, 2019 — On May 28, Nir Barnea, the NOAA MDP Pacific Northwest Regional Coordinator, met in Long Beach, WA with Shelly Pollock and Russ Lewis, representatives of the GrassRoots Garbage Gangs volunteer organization.
Posted: June 10, 2019
JUNE 10, 2019 — Last fall, OR&R had joined PS 146 3rd graders to clean up and remove over 700 pounds of trash from a 200 meter stretch of Plumb Beach at the mouth of Jamaica Bay in New York Harbor.
May 2019
Posted: May 30, 2019
JUNE 3, 2019 — On May 24, Kate Wheelock, Chief of the Disaster Preparedness Program, presented on the full breadth NOS operational response capabilities at the FEMA Region 3 (Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, District of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia) bi-annual Regional Interagency Steering Committee (RISC) Meeting.
Posted: May 30, 2019
JUNE 3, 2019 — Last week marks a major accomplishment for restoration at the Hanford Nuclear Site in eastern Washington State.
Posted: May 30, 2019
JUNE 3, 2019 — On Thursday May 23, OR&R staff gave brief presentations on their work to Benjamin Friedman, NOAA’s Deputy Under Secretary for Operations, who serves as the agency’s chief operating officer and is responsible for the day-to-day management of NOAA’s national and international operations for oceanic and atmospheric services, research and coastal and marine stewardship.
Posted: May 30, 2019
JUNE 3, 2019 — OR&R’s Emergency Response Division Chief, Scott Lundgren, met with the leadership of the American Salvage Association (ASA) on May 23.
Posted: May 30, 2019
JUNE 3, 2019 — The U.S. Department of the Interior’s International Technical Assistance Program (ITAP) together with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) played host to the government of Argentina in New Orleans, Louisiana, on May 22-24 as part of its continued engagement on sustainable oil and gas sector development, as supported by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Energy Resources (DOS/ENR).
Posted: May 30, 2019
JUNE 3, 2019 — On May 28, Marine Debris Program (MDP) staff participated in the Virginia Stormwater and Litter workshop held in Woodbridge, Virginia.
Posted: May 30, 2019
JUNE 3, 2019 — The next generation of environmental scientists learned about current aquatic issues in the news with the help of Troy Baker, an environmental scientist in OR&R's Assessment and Restoration Division.
Posted: May 30, 2019
JUNE 3, 2019 — On May 21 and 22, the Marine Debris Program (MDP) hosted more than 65 partners for the Florida Marine Debris Reduction Workshop at the Nova Southeastern University Guy Harvey Oceanographic Center in Hollywood, Florida.
Posted: May 30, 2019
JUNE 3, 2019 — The Southeast and Caribbean NOAA Disaster Resilience Workshop was held May 14-16 at the Office for Coastal Management-Charleston.
Posted: May 24, 2019
MAY 28, 2019 — Oceanographers Christopher Barker and Dylan Righi visited the responders at the Sección de Respuesta a Emergencias (Emergency Response Section), ACP (Panama Canal Authority) May 21-23 to provide training and support for an updated version of NOAA's General NOAA Operational Modeling Environment (GNOME) model for the Panama Canal.
Posted: May 24, 2019
MAY 28, 2019 — In early May, members of the CAMEO® software team attended the National Association of SARA Title III Program Officials (NASTTPO) conference to discuss CAMEO’s chemical emergency software and gain insights on the current needs and situations of planners across the nation.
Posted: May 24, 2019
MAY 28, 2019 — NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator LCDR Jim Rosenberg participated in an oil spill response exercise in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard, Washington Department of Ecology, and the British Columbia Ministry of Environment in the Strait of Juan de Fuca on May 22.
Posted: May 24, 2019
MAY 28, 2019 — On May 16, the Marine Debris Program's Pacific Northwest and California Regional Coordinators, Nir Barnea and Sherry Lippiatt, contributed to a webinar "Current Actions of the U.S. West Coast Marine Debris Plans," hosted by OCTO and the West Coast Marine Debris Alliance.
Posted: May 24, 2019
MAY 28, 2019 — The 2019 Arctic Incident of National Significance (IoNS) Workshop/Exercise was held May 21-22 in Anchorage, Alaska.
Posted: May 24, 2019
MAY 28, 2019 — OR&R presented on several of our mapping, data management and modeling tools at the Washington State and U.S. Coast Guards Best Achievable Protection Workshop in downtown Seattle May 14-15, 2019.
Posted: May 24, 2019
MAY 28, 2019 —OR&R staff from the Emergency Response Division (ERD) and the Assessment and Restoration Division (ARD) participated in Chevron’s 2019 Preparedness for Response Exercise Program (PREP) exercise this week held in Covington, Louisiana.
Posted: May 24, 2019
MAY 28, 2019 — To best prepare experts for oil spills where sea turtles could be impacted, NOAA has released “Guidelines for Oil Spill Response and Natural Resource Damage Assessment: Sea Turtles.”
Posted: May 24, 2019
MAY 28, 2019 — On May 13-15, Marine Debris Program Director, Nancy Wallace, served as the Head of Delegation for the United States at an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum workshop in Nha Trang, Vietnam.
Posted: May 20, 2019
MAY 20, 2019 — At the most recent meeting of the RRT3 (consisting of representatives from the 15 federal agency and the states of Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia) the decision was made to perform courtesy visits to state capitols in an effort to educate state senior executives on the current dispersant pre-authorization memorandum of agreement (MOA).
Posted: May 20, 2019
MAY 20, 2019 — On April 8, Scott Lundgren, the OR&R Emergency Response Division Chief participated in a widely attended reception held by IPIECA, the global oil and gas industry association for advancing environmental and social performance, during the organization’s annual meeting.
Posted: May 20, 2019
MAY 20, 2019 — NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator (SSC) Adam Davis presented on the role of the NOAA SSC during the recent National Academies of Science and Gulf of Mexico Research Institute (GOMRI) co-sponsored workshop, “Preparing for Oil Spills in the Eastern Gulf: health, economic resilience, and community well-being”.
Posted: May 20, 2019
MAY 20, 2019 —On May 13 and 14 OR&R participated in a coastal protection workshop conducted in coastal city of Tuy Hoa, Vietnam, as part of Pacific Partnership 2019.
Posted: May 20, 2019
MAY 20, 2019 — On April 11, OR&R’s Emergency Response Division Chief Scott Lundgren and Senior Scientist Lisa DiPinto attended the Arctic Domain Awareness Center (ADAC) Annual Meeting at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters.
Posted: May 20, 2019
MAY 20, 2019 — Each year the leadership from the U.S. national and regional oil and hazardous substance preparedness and response interagency partners gather to share information and plan future work.
Posted: May 20, 2019
MAY 20, 2019 — On May 13, the Marine Debris Program staff, Steve Morrison, participated in a meeting between the United States government (USG) and government officials from the Republic of Korea (ROK), led by their Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to discuss US/ROK collaborative work under the Korea/US Free Trade Agreement (KORUS).
Posted: May 20, 2019
MAY 20, 2019 — The Marine Debris Program is excited to announce the winners of the third annual Ohio Marine Debris Challenge!
Posted: May 20, 2019
MAY 20, 2019 — Steve Morrison is the lead for international activities and partnership coordination for the Marine Debris Program (MDP) and works in the Silver Spring office.
Posted: May 20, 2019
MAY 20, 2019 — On May 14-16, LT Michael E. Doig attended the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Team (GLRCT) Meeting in Madison, Wisconsin.
Posted: May 20, 2019
MAY 20, 2019 — Oil removal operations continue on the sunken World War II tanker near Long Island, New York that the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed to be leaking during an underwater assessment last month. More than 62,000 gallons of oil has been removed from the tanks of the Coimbra since pumping operations began on May 11, 2019.
Posted: May 13, 2019
MAY 13, 2019 — After ongoing underwater assessment, the U.S. Coast Guard will be removing oil that has reportedly been leaking from a sunken World War II tanker near Long Island, New York.
Posted: May 13, 2019
Last Updated: May 16, 2019
Posted: May 13, 2019
MAY 13, 2019 — The Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) has started planning for FY2020! DPP staff gathered at the Disaster Response Center (DRC) May 7-9 for an FY2020 operational planning meeting.
Posted: May 10, 2019
MAY 13, 2019 — The Department of Justice announced that a consent decree was lodged in the hazardous waste case of Exxon Mobil Former Fertilizer Plants. in Charleston, South Carolina.
Posted: May 10, 2019
MAY 13, 2019 — On May 9, the U.S. Coast Guard hosted a joint press conference to discuss the ongoing operations at the wreck site of a sunken WWII Tanker near Long Island, New York.
Posted: May 10, 2019
MAY 13, 2019 — Since the 116th Congress began on January 3, 2019, several bills have been introduced that are relevant to the work of OR&R.
Posted: May 10, 2019
MAY 13, 2019 — On April 30 and May 1, partners representing organizations in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia gathered at the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office in Gloucester, Massachusetts to finalize the Gulf of Maine Marine Debris Action Plan, which aims to coordinate efforts to prevent, study, and remove marine debris.
Posted: May 10, 2019
MAY 13, 2019 — On May 1, the Marine Debris Program’s Gulf of Mexico Regional Coordinator, Caitlin Wessel, worked with the Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve and the beachfront towns of Orange Beach and Gulf Shores, Alabama to educate their summer employees about marine debris issues through a one-day class.
Posted: May 10, 2019
MAY 13, 2019 — On May 8, Rear Admiral Shepard Smith, Director of NOAA Office of Coast Survey, testified at a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation.
Posted: May 10, 2019
MAY 13, 2019 — The Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) has started planning for FY2020! DPP staff gathered at the Disaster Response Center (DRC) May 7-9 for an FY2020 operational planning meeting.
Posted: May 10, 2019
MAY 13, 2019 — Over three dozen environmental scientists and natural resource economists from OR&R’s Assessment and Restoration Division gathered in Washington, D.C. this week to discuss recent updates and advances in Natural Resource Damage Assessments (NRDA).
Posted: May 3, 2019
MAY 6, 2019 — On April 16-17, Sarah Latshaw, Southeast regional coordinator for the Marine Debris Program, and Raishan Peterson, grants management specialist with the NOAA Grants Management Division, visited the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GA DNR) office in Brunswick, Georgia.
Posted: May 3, 2019
MAY 6, 2019 — On April 9, OR&R’s biological oceanographer Dr. Carl Childs from the Emergency Response Division attended a colloquium on “Microbial Genomics of the Global Ocean System” on April 9-10, 2019. The event was a part of the ongoing Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative’s Legacy and Synthesis effort to consolidate scientific research that followed the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Posted: May 3, 2019
MAY 3, 2019 — On April 24, the OR&R Diversity and Inclusion Committee sponsored an event on how privilege (or the lack thereof) impacts our lives. Sociologists define privilege as unearned benefits that accrue to particular groups based on their location within a social hierarchy. Having privilege varies, depending on factors such as race, gender, sexual orientation, wealth or social status, and religion. While the subject has been the focus of much attention recently, it is not new.
Posted: May 3, 2019
MAY 6, 2019 — On April 23-24, Marine Debris Program Gulf of Mexico Regional Coordinator Caitlin Wessel visited Hurricane Harvey supplemental debris removal sites from Corpus Christi to Copano Bay, Texas. Caitlin met with groups impacted by Harvey, including the Mission Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve, Texas General Lands Office (GLO), Goose Island State Park, and the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary.
Posted: May 3, 2019
MAY 6, 2019 — During the summer of 2017, the Caribbean was pounded and devastated by two major hurricanes (Irma and Maria). Two years later, recovery continues. With the 2019 official hurricane season nearing, a NOAA Regional Preparedness Training Workshop was held in San Juan, Puerto Rico April 23-25, 2019.
Posted: May 3, 2019
MAY 6, 2019 — Lieutenant Commander Jim Rosenberg re-joined OR&R in April. He is the new scientific support coordinator for the Northwest Continental U.S.
Posted: May 3, 2019
MAY 6, 2019 — On April 24-25, Carlie Herring, research analyst and Jason Rolfe, Mid-Atlantic regional coordinator for the Marine Debris Program, participated in a workshop on “Microplastics in the Chesapeake Bay and its Watershed: State of the Knowledge, Data Gaps, and Relationship to Management Goals.”
Posted: May 3, 2019
MAY 6, 2019 — During April 23-25, trainers from the Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) and Genwest Systems Inc. provided the NOAA-specific Incident Command System 300 course in Charleston, South Carolina.
Posted: May 3, 2019
MAY 6, 2019 — On May 1, NOAA participated in the 2019 National Level Exercise, also known as Eagle Horizon. This year's exercise focused on devolution, or the agency's ability to transfer statutory authority and responsibility for essential functions from leadership and headquartered facilities to predetermined delegates in a remote facility, and to sustain that operational capability until leadership can safely and effectively resume authority and responsibility.
April 2019
Posted: April 29, 2019
APRIL 26, 2019 — On April 22, the Marine Debris Program’s Northeast Regional Coordinator, Demi Fox, spoke at the New Hampshire Coastal Marine Natural Resources and Environment Commission’s monthly meeting.
Posted: April 26, 2019
APRIL 26, 2019 — On April 16-18, Adam Davis, LT Michael Doig, and Ed Levine attended the Clean Waterways conference in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Posted: April 26, 2019
APRIL 26, 2019 — On April 24, Brad Benggio, of OR&R’s Emergency Response Division, and Dan Hahn of the Assessment and Restoration Division, presented at the Sea Grant Oil Spill Science Workshop: How does science guide oil spill response? Collaborating before, during and after a spill in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Posted: April 26, 2019
APRIL 26, 2019 — Last week, the Marine Debris Program (MDP) celebrated Earth Day around the country.
Posted: April 26, 2019
APRIL 26, 2019 — The 6th Annual Arctic Encounter (AES) Symposium was held in Seattle on April 25 and 26.
Posted: April 22, 2019
APRIL 19, 2019 — On April 18, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Sector Mobile held their annual Continuity of Operations (COOP) exercise at the NOAA Gulf of Mexico Disaster Response Center (DRC).
Posted: April 22, 2019
APRIL 19, 2019 — On April 11, the OR&R Emergency Response Division Chief joined RDML Tim Gallaudet, Ph.D., USN Ret., the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Deputy NOAA Administrator, for a visit to the U.S. National Response Center (NRC) based at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters.
Posted: April 22, 2019
APRIL 19, 2019 — On April 10, Amy Holman, NOAA Regional Coordinator for Alaska led a remote NOAA communications exercise in support of Alaska Shield, a tri-annual state-wide emergency response exercise.
Posted: April 22, 2019
APRIL 18, 2019 — On April 10, Marine Debris Program California Regional Coordinator, Sherry Lippiatt, was the invited speaker for the Sonoma Valley Rotary Club luncheon.
Posted: April 22, 2019
APRIL 19, 2019 — On April 10, Amy Holman, NOAA Regional Coordinator for Alaska led a remote NOAA communications exercise in support of Alaska Shield, a tri-annual state-wide emergency response exercise.
Posted: April 22, 2019
APRIL 19, 2019 — On April 16-18, 2019, staff from NOAA’s Assessment and Restoration Division, NOAA’s Restoration Center, and NOAA’s Office of General Counsel for Natural Resources participated in the biannual Texas Trustee Summit held in Port Aransas, Texas.
Posted: April 22, 2019
APRIL 19, 2019 — Ken Finkelstein attended the 2019 North Atlantic Chapter short course on April 8 at University of Massachusetts/Boston.
Posted: April 12, 2019
APRIL 12, 2019 — On April 9 and 10, the Marine Debris Program (MDP) hosted a workshop in Silver Spring, Maryland, for divisions across the Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) to better understand roles and responsibilities both during and outside of emergency response.
Posted: April 12, 2019
APRIL 12, 2019 — Leah Moore, a Hollings Scholar, will be working at OR&R in Seattle this summer with the West Coast Branch of OR&R's Assessment and Restoration Division.
Posted: April 12, 2019
APRIL 12, 2019 — On March 29, Sea Grant hosted an Oil Spill Workshop in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Posted: April 12, 2019
APRIL 12, 2019 — On April 3-5, OR&R’s LT Michael Doig and LT Joshua Valdivia, of the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) provided spill response training for USCG Sector Buffalo.
Posted: April 8, 2019
Posted: April 5, 2019
APRIL 5, 2019 — At the request of U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Sector Puget Sound's Incident Management Division, OR&R personnel facilitated a group exercise at the USCG Air Station in Port Angeles, Washington on April 3.
Posted: April 5, 2019
APRIL 5, 2019 — During the week of March 25, NOAA OR&R staff held their annual Science of Oil Spill (SOS) training in Mobile, Alabama at NOAA’s Gulf of Mexico Disaster Response Center.
Posted: April 5, 2019
APRIL 5, 2019 — On March 27, the Marine Debris Program’s California Regional Coordinator, Sherry Lippiatt, attended the 11th National Monitoring Conference (NMC) in Denver, Colorado.
Posted: April 5, 2019
APRIL 5, 2019 — Every scientist, policy analyst, educator and administrator who works at NOAA started in the same place, as a kid in a classroom.
Posted: April 5, 2019
APRIL 5, 2019 — OR&R Restoration staff participated in U.S. Coast Guard, Sector Juneau’s National Preparedness for Response Exercise Program (PREP) full scale exercise in Juneau, Alaska.
Posted: April 5, 2019
APRIL 5, 2019 — Last week, the Marine Debris Program’s Northeast Regional Coordinator, Demi Fox, spoke with a group of undergraduate MIT students at U.S. Coast Guard Sector Boston.
Posted: April 5, 2019
By Megan Ewald, Office of Response and Restoration
March 2019
Posted: March 29, 2019
MARCH 29, 2019 — During the fourth session of the U.N. Environment Assembly (March 11-15, 2019), the United Nations' Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP) released its report, Guidelines for the monitoring and assessment of plastic litter and microplastics in the ocean.
Posted: March 29, 2019
MARCH 29, 2019 — This week, leveraging our longstanding relationship with the Coastal Response Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, OR&R’s senior scientist collaborated with researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, the Environmental Protection Agency, Water Mapping LLC, and Sea Scan MK2 ECA Group on a project to calibrate various sensors under development for detecting and characterizing oil in the water column.
Posted: March 29, 2019
MARCH 29, 2019 — On March 23, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Florida and Caribbean regional coordinator, Charles Grisafi, participated in the fifth “Ghost Trap Rodeo” event in Tampa, Florida.
Posted: March 29, 2019
MARCH 29, 2019 — On March 26-28, NOAA's Emergency Response Division provided a three day oil spill response training to a variety of response and resource management agencies from around the San Francisco Bay area.
Posted: March 27, 2019
MARCH 29, 2019 — As an economist in the Assessment and Restoration Division, Chris Giguere assists natural resource trustees in the quantification of ecological and recreational-use damages from oil and chemical spills.
Posted: March 27, 2019
MARCH 29, 2019 — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service held a Northeast (Region 5) freshwater mussel workshop at the Virginia Commonwealth University, Rice Rivers Center, in Charles City, Virginia from March 18 to March 20.
Posted: March 22, 2019
MARCH 22, 2019 — NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration and the Restoration Center presented at the “Gear Up” workshop, March 15 – 17, hosted by The Whale Museum in the San Juan Islands.
Posted: March 22, 2019
MARCH 22, 2019 — OR&R’s Emergency Response Division Chief Scott Lundgren joined other members of the International Oil Spill Conference (IOSC) Executive Committee to plan the 2020 International Oil Spill Conference.
Posted: March 22, 2019
MARCH 22, 2019 — On March 7 and 8, Dr. Chris Barker, an oceanographer with OR&R who develops and operates our oil and chemical spill models, joined Emergency Response Division Chief Scott Lundgren in visits with several NOAA and interagency partners to ensure familiarity with our products and services including model development plans and to discuss partner initiatives and interests.
Posted: March 22, 2019
MARCH 22, 2019 — OR&R Emergency Response Division Chief Scott Lundgren and Senior Scientist Lisa DiPinto participated in events on March 18 and 19 relating to a new American Academies of Arts and Science’s publication on Science During Crisis: Best Practices, Research Needs, and Policy Priorities, receiving an advance briefing with other NOAA line office representatives and attending an event rollout with other department and agency representatives and interested parties.
Posted: March 22, 2019
MARCH 22, 2019 — Working under the 2001 Memorandum of Agreement between the National Response Team and the Panama Canal Authority (in Spanish – Authoridad del Canal de Panama - ACP), OR&R’s Emergency Response Division (ERD) is collaborating to update the hydrography of the Canal Zone for trajectory model analysis.
Posted: March 19, 2019
MARCH 8, 2019; UPDATED MARCH 25, 2019 — OR&R staff and scientists are busy preparing for a number of upcoming trainings for the U.S. Coast Guard and other response partners.
Posted: March 19, 2019
Genwest Contractor, Katie Krushinski is the exercise coordinator for OR&R’s Disaster Preparedness Program. She is responsible for supporting exercise design, development, delivery, and evaluation for exercises. Exercises — or simulated scenarios that mimic potential events — are extremely important, allowing us and our partners to test our ability to ensure we can carry out our missions effectively and efficiently.
Posted: March 15, 2019
MARCH 15, 2019 — The OR&R Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP), established just over a year ago, is fully staffed and moving full steam ahead.
Posted: March 15, 2019
MARCH 15, 2019 — On March 9, 2019, the Marine Debris Program’s Gulf of Mexico Regional Coordinator, Caitlin Wessel, attended the Mobile Baykeeper’s post-Mardi Gras cleanup on One Mile Creek in downtown Mobile, Alabama.
Posted: March 15, 2019
MARCH 15, 2019 — On March 8, the Department of Justice announced that a consent decree was lodged in the hazardous waste case Atlantic Wood Industries in Portsmouth, Virginia.
Posted: March 15, 2019
MARCH 15, 2019 — On March 12-13, representatives of the Oregon marine debris community convened for the 2019 Oregon Marine Debris Action Plan Workshop.
Posted: March 15, 2019
MARCH 15, 2019 — The week of March 11, NOAA OR&R staff conducted oil spill science and response training in Hagatna, Guam for over 40 spill responders and planners.
Posted: March 8, 2019
MARCH 8, 2019 — On March 1, the Marine Debris Program’s Gulf of Mexico Regional Coordinator, Caitlin Wessel, attended the Alabama University System’s annual Sustainability Summit in Mobile, Alabama.
Posted: March 8, 2019
MARCH 8, 2019 — For the first time in over a decade, OR&R staff will host training for oil spill planners and responders in Hagatna, Guam on March 11.
Posted: March 8, 2019
MARCH 8, 2019 — OR&R staff and scientists are busy preparing for a number of upcoming trainings for the U.S. Coast Guard and other response partners.
Posted: March 8, 2019
MARCH 8, 2019 — As he has in past years, OR&R environmental scientist Ken Finkelstein officiated at the 2019 National Ocean Science Bowl regional competition at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on March 3.
Posted: March 5, 2019
By Megan Ewald, Office of Response and Restoration
Posted: March 1, 2019
MARCH 1, 2019 — On February 27, the OR&R Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Committee sponsored an event on mindfulness. Mindfulness is bringing one's awareness to the present moment, and has been proven to improve focus, reduce stress, enhance creativity, and improve physical health. The event provided an overview and history of mindfulness, the benefits, and tips for starting a mindfulness practice. Participants were guided through "body scan" and "raisin" exercises to experience the practice first-hand.
Posted: March 1, 2019
MARCH 1, 2019 – If you are an oil or chemical spill responder or planner seeking spill response training, here are more upcoming opportunities!
Posted: March 1, 2019
MARCH 1, 2019 — Last weekend, OR&R team member and Genwest employee Kristen Faiferlick attended World Information Architecture (IA) Day to learn best practices in organizing, sharing, and publicizing information.
Posted: March 1, 2019
This feature is part of a monthly series profiling scientists and technicians who provide exemplary contributions to the mission of NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R). This month’s featured scientist is Catherine Berg, a scientific support coordinator in OR&R’s Emergency Response Division.
Posted: March 1, 2019
MARCH 1, 2019 — The week of February 25, the OR&R Emergency Response Division, NOAA Marine Fisheries/Greater Atlantic Regional Field Office, and the Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC - a joint NOAA/University of New Hampshire research center) brought response, management and seafood inspection authorities from state and federal levels together to discuss fisheries management following a major pollution event in the Gulf of Maine.
Posted: March 1, 2019
MARCH 1, 2019 — On February 26, the Marine Debris Program’s Northeast Regional Coordinator, Demi Fox, attended SWANApalooza, the Solid Waste Association of North America’s annual conference and trade show in Boston, Massachusetts.
Posted: March 1, 2019
MARCH 1, 2019 — Alyson Finn, a Genwest contractor, works as an Emergency Planning Specialist for OR&R’s Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP), based out of Silver Spring, Maryland.
February 2019
Posted: February 22, 2019
FEBRUARY 22, 2019 — Each year, the Alaska Forum on the Environment brings together a diverse audience to discuss ongoing and emerging environmental issues such as contaminants, hazardous waste cleanup, hazardous materials management, and pollution prevention within Alaska’s many different communities and regions.
Posted: February 22, 2019
FEBRUARY 22, 2019 — OR&R’s Assessment and Restoration Division's Northeast Branch participated in the Tenth International Conference on Remediation and Management of Contaminated Sediments held in New Orleans, Louisiana, on February 11-14.
Posted: February 22, 2019
FEBRUARY 22, 2019 — On February 20, 2019, the Marine Debris Program released the 2018 Action Summary Report for the Great Lakes Land-Based Marine Debris Action Plan.
Posted: February 22, 2019
FEBRUARY 22, 2019 — On February 14 – 16, the Marine Debris Program’s Chief Scientist, Amy V. Urhin, participated in the Floating Marine Macro Litter Workshop held in Rome, Italy.
Posted: February 15, 2019
FEBRUARY 15, 2019 — On December 31, 2018, the Washington Coast Derelict Fishing Gear Removal Project came to a successful completion, meeting or exceeding its stated goals.
Posted: February 15, 2019
FEBRUARY 15, 2019 — On February 13, OR&R Deputy Director LaTonya Burgess announced the selection of Kate Wheelock to the position of the Disaster Preparedness Program Chief.
Posted: February 15, 2019
FEBRUARY 15, 2019 — Coastal GeoTools is a biennial event dedicated to technology and coastal environmental science.
Posted: February 15, 2019
FEBRUARY 15, 2019 — On February 13, 2019, Great Lakes Scientific Support Coordinator LT Michael Doig attended an oil in ice training course hosted by U.S. Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with support from Canadian Pacific Railroad.
Posted: February 8, 2019
FEBRUARY 8, 2019 — The NOS Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) is offering a NOAA-specific ICS-300 (Incident Command System) class on April 23-25 in Charleston, South Carolina, that meets the requirements of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) used by federal agencies during expanding incidents as required by Executive Order.
Posted: February 8, 2019
FEBRUARY 8, 2019 — Lindsey Palardy is the Communications and Policy Specialist for NOAA’s Marine Debris Program.
Posted: February 8, 2019
The Guide outlines existing response structures at the local, state, and federal levels to facilitate a coordinated, well-managed, and immediate response to acute waterway debris incidents impacting coastal areas in the state of Texas.
Posted: February 8, 2019
FEBRUARY 8, 2019 —Vicki Loe, OR&R outreach lead; Alyssa Dillon, OR&R web editor; and Seumas Gagne, OR&R webmaster, are pleased to announce that we have completed the development and launch of a new Drupal theme for response.restoration.noaa.gov.
Posted: February 8, 2019
FEBRUARY 8, 2019 — On December 12 and 13, the NOAA Marine Debris Program collaborated with the Gulf of Mexico Alliance (GOMA) and the Environmental Protection Agency to host more than 40 partners at the GOMA Marine Debris Mid-year Meeting and Workshop.
Posted: February 8, 2019
FEBRUARY 8, 2019 — The Office of Response and Restoration had strong participation in this year’s Gulf of Mexico Oil Spills and Ecosystem Science Conference (GOMOSES).
Posted: February 8, 2019
FEBRUARY 8, 2019 — The Marine Debris Program released an internal report analyzing their fiscal year 2018 digital presence.
Posted: February 8, 2019
FEBRUARY 8, 2019 — The 2017 natural resource damage settlement agreement for in-river injuries reached between NOAA, our co-trustees, and parties potentially responsible for hazardous waste releases into the Raritan River from the American Cyanamid Superfund Site in Bridgewater, New Jersey.
Posted: February 8, 2019
FEBRUARY 8, 2019 — On January 31, the Marine Debris Program (MDP) released the fifth and final revision of the Hawai‘i Marine Debris Action Plan.
January 2019
Posted: January 31, 2019
This feature is part of a monthly series profiling scientists and technicians who provide exemplary contributions to the mission of NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R). This month’s featured scientist is Kim Albins, emergency management planning specialist for OR&R’s Disaster Preparedness Program.
December 2018
Posted: December 21, 2018
DECEMBER 21, 2018 — On December 12 and 13, the NOAA Marine Debris Program collaborated with the Gulf of Mexico Alliance (GOMA) and the Environmental Protection Agency to host more than 40 partners at the GOMA Marine Debris Mid-year Meeting and Workshop.
Posted: December 21, 2018
DECEMBER 21, 2018 — On December 18, the Marine Debris Program announced the release of its “Texas Marine Debris Emergency Response Guide.”
Posted: December 17, 2018
DEC. 17, 2018 — An oil well near Port Sulphur, Louisiana that began discharging over a week ago has now been plugged. Oil cleanup continues in the wetlands for the more than 9,000 gallons of oil that was discharged before the wellhead was secured.
Posted: December 14, 2018
DECEMBER 14, 2018 — This week in Silver Spring, Maryland, OR&R’s Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) held a three day NOAA-Specific Incident Command System 300 Level Training (ICS 300).
Posted: December 14, 2018
DECEMBER 14, 2018 — This week, NOAA and the EPA jointly released updates to CAMEOfm and Tier2 Submit™, two programs that aid state and local emergency planners in preparing for and responding to chemical emergencies.
Posted: December 14, 2018
DECEMBER 14, 2018 — The prestigious Team Member of the Year award recognizes contractors for outstanding contributions to NOS programs and the demonstration of exceptional and sustained effort toward the accomplishment of NOS missions. The following contractors that work in OR&R were recognized for their achievements at a ceremony on December 3 in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Posted: December 14, 2018
DECEMBER 14, 2018 — In 2019, NOAA, along with representatives from three Tribal Nations, will begin to lead a project focused on aquatic restoration planning at the Hanford Nuclear site.
Posted: December 14, 2018
DECEMBER 14, 2018 — From December 3-7, the Marine Debris Program’s Director, Nancy Wallace, represented OR&R at the United Nation’s second meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-Ended Expert Group on Marine Litter and Microplastics in Geneva, Switzerland.
Posted: December 14, 2018
DECEMBER 14, 2018 — From December 3-7, the Marine Debris Program’s science team met with FY17 Marine Debris Research Grant recipient, Dr. Beth Polidoro, at Arizona State University to learn about an exciting microplastics project.
Posted: December 13, 2018
This feature is part of a monthly series profiling scientists and technicians who provide exemplary contributions to the mission of NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R). This month’s featured scientist is Charles Grisafi, OR&R Marine Debris Program regional coordinator for Florida and the Caribbean.
Posted: December 13, 2018
DEC. 13, 2018 — NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration has staff on scene near Port Sulphur, Louisiana following an equipment failure on a wellhead casing in the Lake Washington-Rattlesnake Bayou area. The U.S. Coast Guard notified OR&R of the failure on Sunday, Dec. 9.
Posted: December 7, 2018
DECEMBER 7, 2018 — On November 30, the Disaster Preparedness Program activated accountability procedures for NOS staff within the projected area of impact (below from ERMA*) for the 7.0 Alaska earthquake, including the coastal tsunami warning area.
Posted: December 7, 2018
DECEMBER 7, 2018 — The NOAA Damage Assessment, Remediation and Restoration Program (DARRP) sponsored the second in a series of workshops on Long Term Data Management in the Gulf of Mexico on December 4 – 6 at NOAA's Disaster Response Center in Mobile, Alabama.
Posted: December 7, 2018
DECEMBER 7, 2018 — During the week of November 26, the Marine Debris Program celebrated ten exciting years working with Fishing for Energy partners to divert derelict fishing year.
Posted: December 7, 2018
DECEMBER 7, 2018 — On November 29 and 30, the NOAA Marine Debris Program, in collaboration with the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW), Marine Quest, and the NOAA Office for Coastal Management, hosted more than 50 partners at the Southeast Marine Debris Workshop.
Posted: December 7, 2018
DECEMBER 7, 2018 — OR&R’s Emergency Response Division has a new team member: ENS Ololade (Lola) Ajilore.
November 2018
Posted: November 30, 2018
NOVEMBER 30, 2018 — West Coast federal and state trustees and oil industry representatives convened in Portland, Oregon, for the West Coast Joint Assessment Team (JAT) meeting on November 27.
Posted: November 30, 2018
NOVEMBER 30, 2018 — On November 17, Frank Csulak, NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator, served as the guest speaker at the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Fifth Northern Coast Guard District Division 12’s Change of Watch Ceremony.
Posted: November 30, 2018
NOVEMBER 30, 2018 — Finally, November 30 marks the end of Hurricane Season 2018. Hurricane Season 2018 was extremely busy, with storms like Hurricane Florence in North Carolina, and Hurricane Michael in the Florida panhandle that left a path of destruction in their wake.
Posted: November 30, 2018
NOVEMBER 30, 2018 — OR&R staff sat down with Brooklyn public high school students to share stories about careers in marine science.
Posted: November 30, 2018
NOVEMBER 30, 2018 — On November 16, the NOAA Marine Debris Program announced $17.2 million in grants to coastal states and territories impacted by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.
OR&R’s Assessment and Restoration Division Highlights Restoration Efforts at New England Waste Sites
Posted: November 30, 2018
NOVEMBER 30, 2018 — OR&R’s Ken Finkelstein, Jim Turek of the National Marine Fisheries Service Restoration Center, and Grant Blumberg of NOAA’s General Counsel participated in a public meeting on November 19 in Stratford, Connecticut.
Posted: November 30, 2018
NOVEMBER 30, 2018 — OR&R staff participated in the biennial conference of the New York and New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program (HEP).
Posted: November 30, 2018
NOVEMBER 30, 2018 — On November 19, the Department of Justice announced that a consent decree was lodged on November 9, 2018 in the hazardous waste case of Koppers Co., Inc. in Charleston, South Carolina.
Posted: November 29, 2018
NOV. 29, 2018 – If you are an oil spill responder or planner seeking spill response training, here are some upcoming opportunities!
Posted: November 26, 2018
This feature is part of a monthly series profiling scientists and technicians who provide exemplary contributions to the mission of NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R). This month’s featured scientist is Ed Levine, a scientific support coordinator and supervisor in OR&R’s Emergency Response Division.
Posted: November 16, 2018
NOVEMBER 16, 2018 — A recent OR&R publication in the journal Landscape Ecology examined how hydrodynamic drivers and physical setting influence seagrass landscape composition and configuration.
Posted: November 16, 2018
NOVEMBER 16, 2018 — On November 3-10, Doug Helton and Catherine Berg from the OR&R's Emergency Response Division traveled with colleagues from the U.S. Coast Guard and the State of Alaska, to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia to participate in a "Seminar on Understanding Maritime Pollution Threats and Response Systems in the Russian Federation-United States Trans-Boundary Area".
Posted: November 16, 2018
NOVEMBER 16, 2018 — On November 9, Tri-State Rescue and Rehabilitation, Inc. presented an award to NOAA at their annual "Fly Me to the Loon: Night to Benefit the Birds" fundraising event.
Posted: November 16, 2018
NOVEMBER 16, 2018 — Between September 18 and October 30, five NOAA offices and numerous partners collaborated on a marine debris removal mission in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands that yielded over 80 tons of marine debris.
Posted: November 9, 2018
NOVEMBER 9, 2018 — If a picture is worth a thousand words, then Story Maps are worth even more. Story Maps are custom maps used to communicate messages in a visual and interactive way.
Posted: November 9, 2018
NOVEMBER 9, 2018 — On November 6, the Marine Debris Program’s California Regional Coordinator, Sherry Lippiatt, gave the morning keynote for the Marine Debris Solutions Conference in San Diego, California.
Posted: November 9, 2018
NOVEMBER 9, 2018 — OR&R’s senior scientist, Dr. Lisa DiPinto; the chief of OR&R’s Emergency Response Division, Scott Lundgren; and OR&R biologist Gary Shigenaka participated in the 2018 Industry Technical Advisory Committee (ITAC) Annual Meeting to share information on current and emerging scientific and technical issues influencing spill response.
Posted: November 9, 2018
NOVEMBER 9, 2018 — On October 31, the Marine Debris Program’s Northeast Regional Coordinator, Demi Fox, spoke at the EPA’s annual Tribal Environmental Conference hosted by the Passamaquoddy Tribe in Jackman, Maine.
Posted: November 9, 2018
NOVEMBER 9, 2018 — In October 2018, OR&R’s director, chiefs of OR&R’s Emergency Response and Marine Debris Divisions, and staff participated in a series of industry partnership information-sharing meetings.
Posted: November 7, 2018
In 2018 NOAA reached agreements with cooperating companies across America to restore natural resources damaged by industrial pollution and oil spills. Six pollution cases were settled, totaling $34.3 million that will go toward restoration.
Posted: November 2, 2018
NOVEMBER 2, 2018 — On October 31, OR&R’s Diversity and Inclusion team held an event focused on substance sensitivities in the workplace.
Posted: November 2, 2018
NOVEMBER 2, 2018 — For NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R), Fiscal Year 2018 was a year filled with new challenges and new achievements — including providing scientific support for over 200 pollution-related incidents, a prolonged response to the 2017 hurricane season, and ongoing research into the detection of oil thickness via remote sensing.
Posted: November 2, 2018
NOVEMBER 2, 2018 — The NOAA Unmanned Marine Systems (UMS) Symposium was held at the Stennis Space Center in Stennis, Mississippi, the week of October 29.
Posted: November 2, 2018
NOVEMBER 2, 2018 — For years, OR&R’s Emergency Response Division and Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality have joined forces to teach a Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Technique (SCAT) course in Louisiana for local responders.
Posted: November 2, 2018
NOVEMBER 2, 2018 — On October 27, Charles Grisafi, Florida and Caribbean Regional Coordinator for the NOAA Marine Debris Program, participated in the first-ever Ghost Trap Rodeo event at Fort De Soto Park in Tierra Verde, Florida.
Posted: November 2, 2018
NOVEMBER 2, 2018 — Cold Spring, New York, is situated in the Hudson Valley on the east bank of the Hudson River across from West Point and Crow’s Nest, about 60 miles north of New York City.
Posted: November 2, 2018
NOVEMBER 2, 2018 — The 2018 Oregon State of the Coast conference was held on October 27, in Coos Bay, Oregon.
Posted: November 2, 2018
NOVEMBER 2, 2018 — On Halloween - Wednesday, October 31, scientists from OR&R participated in a seep oil technology demonstration off of Coal Oil Point near Santa Barbara, California.
Posted: November 1, 2018
For NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R), Fiscal Year 2018 was a year filled with new challenges and new achievements — including providing scientific support for over 200 pollution-related incidents, a prolonged response to the 2017 hurricane season, and ongoing research into the detection of oil thickness via remote sensing.
October 2018
Posted: October 26, 2018
OCTOBER 26, 2018 — Over the past 13 years, OR&R’s Emergency Response Division has teamed up with California’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) to provide oil spill science training known as Environmental Response to Oil Spills (EROS).
Posted: October 26, 2018
This feature is part of a monthly series profiling scientists and technicians who provide exemplary contributions to the mission of NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R). This month’s featured scientist is Assessment and Restoration Division Southeast Branch Manager Kevin Kirsch.
Posted: October 26, 2018
OCTOBER 26, 2018 — Simeon Hahn and Diane Evers attended the 2018 Urban Waters Federal Partnership National Training Workshop held at EPA Headquarters October 17-19.
Posted: October 26, 2018
OCTOBER 26, 2018 — Members of the Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) participated in the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) Annual Conference this week in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Posted: October 26, 2018
OCTOBER 26, 2018 — On October 16, Great Lakes Scientific Support Coordinator, LT Michael Doig, joined the crew of the NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown on the final leg of their around the world voyage.
Posted: October 26, 2018
OCTOBER 26, 2018 — The Northeast Brandywine Riverfront Brownfields Area Wide Plan (AWP) in Wilmington, Delaware held a public open house and provided presentations on draft reuse alternatives developed under the EPA AWP grant.
Posted: October 26, 2018
OCTOBER 26, 2018 — On October 13, the Marine Debris Program’s Northeast Regional Coordinator, Demi Fox, led a workshop at the Long Island Sound Educators Conference at Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, Connecticut.
Posted: October 26, 2018
OCTOBER 26, 2018 — OR&R staff joined public elementary school students from PS 146 in Brooklyn, NY, for their annual Plum Beach fall cleanup.
Posted: October 26, 2018
OCTOBER 26, 2018 — On October 16, the Marine Debris Program released its 2018 Accomplishments Report.
Posted: October 19, 2018
OCTOBER 19, 2018 — On October 11, RDML Tim Gallaudet joined President Trump, Secretary Ross, Senator Whitehouse, and Senator Sullivan and Julie Fate Sullivan, at a signing ceremony for the “Save our Seas Act of 2018.”
Posted: October 19, 2018
OCTOBER 19, 2018 — From October 16-18, state and federal Natural Resource Trustees came to together for the biannual Texas Trustee Summit in Galveston, Texas, hosted by the NOAA Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program (DARRP).
Posted: October 19, 2018
OCTOBER 19, 2018 —Dr. Amy Merten and Rob Neely, of OR&R’s Assessment and Restoration Division, traveled to Port Angeles, Washington, on October 9-10 to conduct site visits and meet with Elwha tribal staff.
Posted: October 19, 2018
OCTOBER 19, 2018 — On October 13, the Marine Debris Program’s (MDP) Director, Nancy Wallace, OR&R Director Dave Westerholm, NOS Acting Assistant Administrator Nicole LeBoeuf, and Acting NOAA Administrator RDML Tim Gallaudet, participated in the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup flagship event.
Posted: October 19, 2018
OCTOBER 19, 2018 — On October 10 and 11, OR&R staff participated in the Crowley Alaska Tankers "Shippers" Exercise in Valdez, Alaska.
Posted: October 19, 2018
OCTOBER 19, 2018 — On October 11, the Marine Debris Program’s Director, Nancy Wallace, joined a panel conversation on how to strengthen efforts to stop marine debris.
Posted: October 19, 2018
OCTOBER 19, 2018 — Thomas Peltzer, Ruth Yender, Catherine Berg, and Matt Bissell, all Scientific Support Coordinators (SSCs) with OR&R, taught a Shoreline Cleanup and Assessment Techniques (SCAT) training course on October 16 - 18 at the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Sector Columbia River Air Station in Astoria, Oregon.
Posted: October 15, 2018
This feature is part of a monthly series profiling scientists and technicians who provide exemplary contributions to the mission of NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R). This month’s scientist is Amy MacFadyen, an oceanographer in OR&R’s oil spill response program. She responds to oil and chemical spills across the country, and leads the development of the GNOME™ suite for oil spill modeling.
Posted: October 12, 2018
OCTOBER 12, 2018 — On September 21, Nir Barnea, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Pacific Northwest Regional Coordinator, met with project managers for the Makah Tribe to review the Tribe’s new derelict crab pot removal project.
Posted: October 12, 2018
OCTOBER 12, 2018 — Dr. Christopher Barker returned from a one month-collaboration with the Maritime, Marine, Environmental and Safety Management group at NHL Stenden University in Leeuwarden, Netherlands.
Posted: October 12, 2018
OCTOBER 12, 2018 — The 41st AMOP Technical Seminar on Environmental Contamination and Response was held in Victoria, B.C. on October 2 to 4.
Posted: October 11, 2018
Oct. 11, 2018 — In the aftermath of Hurricane Michael, NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration is reviewing early imagery to begin identifying potential pollution sources, such as displaced vessels and containers.
Posted: October 10, 2018
During the first week of September, Hurricane Florence, a Category 4 hurricane still located hundreds of miles offshore, was setting its sights to make landfall along the North Carolina-South Carolina coast. While some residents waited to see where its path would lead, others decided to heed warnings issued by the governor of North Carolina to evacuate their low-lying coastal homes.
Posted: October 5, 2018
OCTOBER 5, 2018 — On September 19-20, OR&R’s Outreach and Communications team, including representatives from all four programs, met in Seattle to review work done in FY18 and to create an action plan for FY19.
Posted: October 5, 2018
OCTOBER 5, 2018 — On September 26-28, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Pacific Islands Regional Coordinator, Mark Manuel, traveled to Panama to participate in the Ghost Gear Dive Recovery Workshop held at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
Posted: October 5, 2018
OCTOBER 5, 2018 — Researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), and University of Alaska’s Arctic Domain Awareness Center (ADAC) are developing a small Long-Range Autonomous Underwater Vehicle system (Tethys LRAUV) to detect oil spills in some of the most challenging oceanic environments on the planet, under arctic sea ice.
Posted: October 5, 2018
OCTOBER 5, 2018 — On September 25, OR&R staff were asked to participate with industry and other stakeholders to share experiences and discuss opportunities for improving cooperation in conducting natural resource damage assessments.
Posted: October 5, 2018
OCTOBER 5, 2018 — On September 24, the NOAA Marine Debris Program and NOAA’s Ocean Today studio released a new Trash Talk episode, Trash Counts.
Posted: October 5, 2018
OCTOBER 5, 2018 — Rosa González, Environmental Compliance Coordinator for the Office of Response and Restoration, is in Puerto Rico to serve as the Coastal Resources Coordinator for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)’s Natural and Cultural Resources Sector Recovery Support Function team supporting Puerto Rico recovery efforts following Hurricane María in 2017.
September 2018
Posted: September 28, 2018
SEPTEMBER 28, 2018 — On September 16, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Pacific Northwest Coordinator, Nir Barnea, joined the University of Washington’s Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team (COASST) and other volunteers in a field exercise to support a study funded by the NOAA Marine Debris Program.
Posted: September 28, 2018
SEPTEMBER 28, 2018 — Freshwater mussels are globally imperiled. Three hundred species are known from North America. In the U.S., 74% of freshwater mussels are imperiled, 73% are endangered, threatened or species of special concern and about 12% are assumed extinct.
Posted: September 28, 2018
SEPTEMBER 28, 2018 — The October 2018 online/open access issue of the Water Environment Research Journal includes a multi-authored review of 2017 literature on Effects of Pollution on Marine Organisms. Four NOAA scientists were among the eight co-authors.
Posted: September 28, 2018
SEPTEMBER 28, 2018 — Alexis joined the Marine Debris Program (MDP) as a Communications and Education Specialist in July of 2018.
Posted: September 28, 2018
SEPTEMBER 28, 2018 — From September 17-20, the OR&R and Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Commission conducted Shoreline Cleanup and Assessment Technique (SCAT) team member training at the EPA Gulf Ecology Division Laboratory in Pensacola Beach, Florida.
Posted: September 28, 2018
SEPTEMBER 28, 2018 — Basketball and coastal stewardship have a lot in common, according to Simeon Hahn, Regional Resource Coordinator (RRC) for the Mid-Atlantic Region.
Posted: September 28, 2018
SEPTEMBER 28, 2018 — Juvenile American shad were captured for the first time upstream of the recently removed Weston Mill Dam on the Millstone River in New Jersey by sampling crews conducting biannual monitoring of this natural resource damage (NRD) restoration project.
Posted: September 28, 2018
SEPTEMBER 28, 2018 — On September 18, the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Northeast Regional Coordinator, Demi Fox, traveled to Hartford to participate in a state working group on synthetic microfibers.
Posted: September 28, 2018
SEPT. 28, 2018 — NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration continues to support the U.S. Coast Guard’s pollution task force mission assignment to remove vessels and containers that sank or were stranded by Hurricane Florence.
Posted: September 21, 2018
SEPT. 21, 2018 — Last week NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration deployed personnel to North and South Carolina to provide NOAA scientific support to the U.S. Coast Guard following Hurricane Florence, which hit the coast last Thursday.
Posted: September 21, 2018
SEPTEMBER 21, 2018 — This week OR&R staff and team members came together to explore the role of faith and spirituality in our lives at the September OR&R Diversity and Inclusion event.
Posted: September 21, 2018
SEPTEMBER 21, 2018 — Effective Friday, September 14, 2018, the single Alaska Regional Contingency Plan and four Area Contingency Plans have replaced the old Unified Plan and 10 subarea contingency plans.
Posted: September 21, 2018
SEPTEMBER 21, 2018 — On September 18, the Marine Debris Program announced its FY19 “Marine Debris Research” federal funding opportunity.
Posted: September 21, 2018
SEPTEMBER 21, 2018 — On September 12, the NOAA Marine Debris Program supported the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Aquaculture (FDACS) in hosting a shellfish aquaculture gear management workshop in Cedar Key, Florida.
Posted: September 21, 2018
SEPTEMBER 21, 2018 — It pays to arrive early to an International Coastal Cleanup event on September 15 - you get to pick up the best debris around.
Posted: September 21, 2018
SEPTEMBER 21, 2018 — Hurricane Florence has passed, but it left a coastal disaster in her wake that continues to severely impact communities, ecosystems, economies.
Posted: September 21, 2018
SEPTEMBER 21, 2018 — On September 13, Sherry Lippiatt, California Regional Coordinator for the Marine Debris Program, participated in a virtual classroom event for Exploring by the Seat of Your Pants.