This August, three staff members from NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) led a training on the Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA®) for approximately 30 members of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Atlantic Strike Team (AST). The AST is one of three special teams that make up the National Strike Force. It provides specialized personnel and equipment to respond to oil and hazardous substance pollution incidents. Held at Fort Dix, New Jersey, the training covered how to use ERMA for various scenarios, including oil spill response and assessing damage to vessels after a storm. Participants learned about ERMA’s background, data holdings, and display functions. The session also reviewed OR&R’s field data collection applications, such as during hurricane response and quick assessments used during shoreline oiling. The training concluded with practical exercises, giving participants valuable knowledge and hands-on experience for future hurricane preparedness.

OR&R participated in two international oil spill response workshops in Papua New Guinea and the Federated States of Micronesia. Sponsored by the Department of Defense's Indo-Pacific Command, a NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator served as a subject matter expert at these workshops, which took place from July 28-31 in Port Moresby and August 18-22 in Chuuk State. Both oil spill workshops, which had over 50 attendees each from various response, environmental, and industry agencies, were held in conjunction with the Navy's Pacific Partnership 2025 mission. This annual mission focuses on humanitarian assistance and disaster response in the Indo-Pacific.

Papua New Guinea Workshop: Given Papua New Guinea’s extensive oil and gas industry, there's a significant risk of an oil spill that could threaten sensitive marine resources, including mangrove and coral ecosystems. The workshop aimed to improve preparedness and coordinated response actions.

Chuuk State Workshop: Chuuk Lagoon contains over 60 sunken WWII vessels and aircraft, some of which are already leaking oil. There's a growing risk that more of these wrecks could release large amounts of oil, potentially harming the environment and local communities. The workshop, which included responders from Chuuk State, Pohnpei State, Kosrae, the Republic of Palau, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands, aimed to address this threat to the region's sensitive coral and mangrove habitats.

This summer, General Recycling of Washington (General Recycling) began construction of a 2.8-acre restoration project along the Lower Duwamish River to restore habitat for Chinook salmon, shorebirds, and other wildlife. The off-channel marsh, intertidal, and riparian habitats will help support the recovery of these natural resources harmed by decades of contamination in this industrial waterway. Once complete, the project will create 2.3 acres of new, on and off-channel marsh, intertidal, and riparian habitat, and protect an additional 0.5 acres of subtidal habitat on and adjacent to the Lower Duwamish River.