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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, natural resource Trustees for Berry’s Creek, released a Draft Damage Assessment Plan. They seek public comment on the proposed approach for conducting a natural resource damage assessment. Public participation is important in this process, and the public is encouraged to review the draft plan and provide feedback during the 30-day public comment period, which ends on May 6, 2026.
Supporting Clean, Healthy Coasts and Economies
Prepare • Respond • Restore • Recover
OR&R Services
Disaster and Pollution
OR&R delivers critical services to address increasing impacts from disasters and from pollution due to oil, chemicals, and marine debris. Our pollution and disaster mandates provide the backbone for our mission to the changing nature of coastal threats and hazards, which impact our coastal communities and the economies on which they rely.
Oil and Chemical Spill Response
OR&R provides scientific support to over 150 oil and chemical spills in U.S. waters annually. Spills impact lives, property, and public natural resources, as well as disrupt marine transportation with widespread economic impacts.
Oil and Chemical Natural Resource Restoration
OR&R and partners assess the impacts of oil spill and industrial pollution incidents and reach legal settlements with those responsible to fund restoration. Over the past 30+ years, NOAA and co-trustees have helped recover $10.8 billion for restoration of injured resources across the country.
Marine Debris Prevention and Removal
OR&R investigates and prevents the adverse impacts of marine debris. Since 2006, we have supported over 260 marine debris removal projects and removed more than 38,000 metric tons of marine debris from our coasts and ocean.
Emergency and Disaster Preparedness
Through planning, training, exercises, disaster coordination, and continuous improvement, OR&R ensures the National Ocean Service and its partners have the tools and information necessary to plan for and respond to disasters so commerce, communities, and natural resources can recover as quickly as possible.
Featured News
On April 2, 2026, the Natural Resource Trustees for the Nyanza Superfund Site released a Draft Supplement to the 2012 Final Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment for public review and comment. The Draft Supplement evaluates alternatives to improve migratory (or diadramous) fish passage on the Concord River and analyzes potential environmental impacts, including those of the preferred alternative: partial removal of the Talbot Mills Dam in Billerica, Massachusetts. Public comment is now open until June 1, 2026.
In summer 2025 in southern Biscayne Bay, efforts to remove lost fishing gear led to an unexpected rescue and a second chance for an endangered green sea turtle.
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When the University of Florida’s Operation TRAP, in partnership with Florida Sea Grant, and St. Andrew and St. Joseph Bays Estuary Program hosted by Florida State University, each independently received NOAA Marine Debris Program funding to remove marine debris (in 2023 and 2024, respectively), the question became not who would win—but how they would work together. To address the threat of urban trash clogging their waterways, both programs are implementing proven interception technologies in their respective communities.