The goal of the workshop was to discuss the feasibility of in-situ burning as a response technique in the Great Lakes region, specifically the Straits of Mackinac.

Participants included federal, state, and local agencies and industry.

Primary issues addressed were:

• Environmental conditions at the time of the spill that would be acceptable to allow a burn.
• Acquisition of a fire boom for the region and the time needed to deploy the boom in the event of a spill.
• Process to receive an emergency declaration from the State of Michigan Governor to use ISB.
• Deployment of air monitoring equipment and the levels of concern. 
• Impacts on threatened and endangered species in the area, specifically Piping Plover.
• Tradeoffs of using ISB versus using other response techniques.

At the conclusion of the meeting, it was agreed that in-situ burning is a viable response option for the scenario that was presented during the meeting. However, there were several follow-up items that needed to be addressed before RRT approval for ISB use for an actual spill.  

For further information, contact Michael.E.Doig@noaa.gov.

Return to OR&R Weekly Report.